If you are looking for family business health insurance, you might be curious about whether this counts as small business insurance. Health insurance for your small business is an important benefit you can offer to attract talented employees, but what if you truly run a family business? Do you count your family members as employees? 

If you have a family-run small business, you may qualify for group health insurance. Even if you do qualify, you may wonder if small business health insurance is the best choice for your family. If you qualify for small business insurance, you may be able to save money.

Read on to learn about whether or not you qualify and if you should choose small business health

insurance or family health insurance. Learn more about family business health insurance and explore your options with free small business health insurance quotes from eHealth.

What is family business health insurance?

When talking about small business family health insurance, it’s usually referring to health insurance plans for employees and family members. If you run a family business, you may have several family members who need to cover, and you might also have other employees who are looking for health insurance. That is where small business health insurance is critical. You need to provide your valued employees and family members with access to health insurance plans that meet their needs. 

Our small business health insurance guide can provide more information.

Can family members count as employees?

Some family members may count as employees. This may vary depending on the insurance company or plan. Companies usually have certain rules depending on the types of policies.

The rules around spouses

Generally, your spouse can’t count as your one and only employee. If your business is just you and your spouse, you will likely have to get individual health insurance.

Other Family Members

One of the most common questions people ask about health insurance for small businesses is whether their family members count as employees. If you want your family members to count as employees, you need to provide proof that they are actually in your employ. You may need to collect a W-4 from them, and you may need to show that you are withholding a small amount of their income to cover federal taxes. 

Even though they might be able to get health insurance coverage under your plan in some situations, they do not necessarily count as employees when you are negotiating with an insurance company.

In order to qualify for small business insurance, you must have one common law employee. A common law employee is someone who works at least 30 hours a week for you. This person may be able to be a family member, but they cannot be your spouse.

Contact our licensed insurance agents to find out if you qualify and what your options are. Our agents can also help you compare quotes and coverage levels to find a plan that suits your needs—all at no extra cost to you!

Should I have group health insurance for my family business?

This is a subjective question, and it always depends on your specific situation and the people employed by your family business.

You may want to get a group health insurance plan to cover the employees of your family business both family members and non-family members.

Here are some reasons why a group plan can be a great option for a family business:

• You may see premium prices drop per individual. Some group plans purchased by companies have a lower cost per covered individual than individual and family health insurance plans purchased by individuals.
• As the family business owner, you could benefit from tax deductions and credits. These tax opportunities could help pay for health insurance costs that you spend on your employees.
• You may find that offering group health insurance as a benefit helps attract quality employees and helps you keep them.

Family insurance plans vs. group insurance plans

A family insurance plan provides health insurance coverage for yourself and your family. You may want to see if your family members qualify as employees because you might get access to a big group insurance plan. 

Companies with 50 or more employees may qualify for a discounted rate from insurance companies because they have more people. If you can qualify for a group insurance plan, you may be able to save money on the cost of your health insurance. However, you may not necessarily meet the threshold to apply for group insurance from an insurance provider.

Can I only extend group health insurance to my family members?

Even though you might call your small business a family business, you still may employ people who aren’t related to you.

Keep in mind that with health insurance, playing favorites in any small business isn’t allowed. You must offer health insurance to not only your employed family members but your qualifying employees who are not related to you.

When you offer a group health insurance plan to your full-time employees, all employees in that category must be offered the same amount of benefits.

You must offer all your employees the same benefits whether or not they are family members.

Although you cannot exclude full-time employees from your group health insurance plan, your employees do not have to join the group plan.

Reasons for this could be that:

• They get health insurance from a spouse
• They wish to buy their own individual insurance
• The employee has health insurance from a government-sponsored program

Read about health insurance requirements for small businesses to learn more.

You may need legal advice if you are considering offering different benefits to different categories of employees within your small business.

What do I need to know about group health insurance for my family business?

For starters, if you offer health insurance to even one employee, you’re required to extend the option to all employees at the company. The only exceptions are part-time employees, who may only qualify for partial benefits. 

In order to qualify for small business health insurance you also are required to have the following:

• At least one common law employee, who opts to enroll in the plan
• Proof that you have a business
• Employer contribution to the monthly payments

The requirements listed above are not the only qualifiers for getting a group health insurance plan, and they may differ based on the plan or insurance company. Contact our licensed agents for help understanding your options and choosing a plan that’s right for you and your business.

Tips for finding a plan that works for your business

As you review your small business preparation checklist, you need to find a plan that works for your needs. Some of the tips to keep in mind include:

Consider the needs of your family/employees

You need to think about the type of coverage you, your family members, and your employees require. Make sure you find plans that cover outpatient care, inpatient care, surgical procedures, emergency room visits, mental health services, and prescription drug expenses.

Consider offering options

You should also offer your employees and family members at least a few options if possible. That way, everyone can select the right plan to meet their needs. 

The right insurance coverage for you might not necessarily be the right insurance coverage for your employees.

Compare premiums

You should compare premiums before you decide what plans to offer. A lot of people make their health insurance selection based on whether they can afford the premium. 

Also consider deductibles, coinsurance, and lifetime maximums as well. That way, everyone can budget accordingly.

Think about potential tax deductions

As a small business owner, your business expenses may be tax deductible. For instance, the amount of money you have to pay to subsidize health coverage for your employees could be tax deductible. Before you claim your health insurance premiums on your taxes, you should talk to an accountant who can help you clarify what is tax deductible and what is not.

Where do you get family health insurance?

If you are looking for family health insurance, it is helpful to work with an expert who can point you in the right direction. eHealth makes it easy for you to find health insurance for yourself, your family, and your employees. 

If you want to offer health insurance to your employees, we can help you compare the features and benefits of each individual plan, helping you provide your employees and family members with plenty of choices that can work for both you and them. We have licensed insurance agents available to help you through the entire process.

What if my company doesn’t qualify for small business health insurance?

If you don’t qualify for business health insurance, there are still ways to find affordable coverage for you and your family. Here are a few things to keep in mind if your business doesn’t qualify for group health coverage:

• Open enrollment for individual and family health insurance plans runs from November 1st through January 15th every year in most states. Some states have longer enrollment periods and may provide extensions.
• Unless you qualify for a special enrollment period you must enroll in family health insurance during Open Enrollment. Life events such as birth, loss of coverage through work, or moving are some examples of qualifying life events.
• If you do not qualify for a special enrollment period, you may be able to get some coverage with short-term health insurance.
• If you do not have Affordable-Care-Act-compliant health insurance, which you can only get during open enrollment or a special enrollment period, you may have to pay a fine depending on what state you live in.

Get insurance that suits your business needs

If you want to attract talented employees and save money on your taxes, you should consider offering health insurance as a part of your family business. At eHealth, we can help you find family business health insurance coverage at a price you can afford. Reach out to us today for help finding plans that work for you.