Small Business

Florida Small Business Health Insurance (Everything You Need to Know)

BY Carly Plemons Updated on October 26, 2022

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Now more than ever, small business health insurance in Florida is a great option for small business owners.

Small business owners may benefit from:

  • Lower prices
  • Potential tax benefits
  • Access to coverage outside of Open Enrollment

Top 3 reasons to offer small business health insurance in Florida

1. Offering Florida Small Business Health Insurance Sets You Apart

According to Real Time Health Quotes, 4 million people in Florida are without health insurance (over 20% of the population). According to the same study, 94% of large businesses supply health insurance to their employees, whereas in Florida, only 38% of small businesses offer coverage for their employees.

Many employees value benefits like health insurance more than a pay raise! This may be due to the benefits employees get by having employer-sponsored group health insurance.

Some benefits include:

  • Cost sharing — Premium costs are usually shared between the employee and the small business owner under small group health insurance in Florida.
  • Tax benefits — Since an employee’s share of the health insurance is usually taken out of his or her paycheck, that means it comes from pre-tax dollars.
  • Lower prices — Due to being a larger pool than just an individual or family, premiums on small group plans are often cheaper per individual.

When it comes to group coverage, there are plenty of ways that both employees and employers benefit.

2. Offering Group Health Insurance in Florida Can Benefit Employers Too

Offering group coverage in Florida as a small business owner can have significant benefits. Some of these include:

  • Retaining and hiring key employees — Typically, talented workers are going to go for the best positions. The best positions often include benefits, like health insurance. According to the Small Business Administration, economists believe that employees generally perceive having health benefits as more of a cost-saver than having a higher salary. So in other words, small group health insurance is proven to make employees happy. You can read up more on the topic of how to retain key employees for your small business.
  • Tax benefits— Tax credits are meant to help you afford the cost of owning a small business in Florida. You may qualify for a tax benefit if:
    • You have 25 or fewer employees
    • The average wage at your company is lower than $52,000 annually
    • You contribute at least 50% to the premiums
  • Healthy employees—By offering small business health insurance in Florida, you’re giving your employees access to preventative care and discounts on prescriptions and doctors’ visits. With all the medical care your employees can take advantage of, you may find that you have healthier employees at work, and less people taking sick days.

3. Florida employers can get small business health insurance with few employees

There are small businesses, and then there are very small businesses. Sometimes it may be harder for businesses with only a few people to supply coverage to employees.

According to the Transamerica Center for Health Studies (TCHS), the top reason that employers had for not offering health insurance was that they were too small.

Luckily for businesses out there with only a few employees, eHealth still has great coverage options that make it easier for you to offer health insurance to your employees.

2018 data from our customers suggested that even smaller companies buy small group health insurance from our site.

This is likely because of the the unaffordable prices of individual plans.

On average, group health insurance plans are cheaper per individual. This means that your employees will have access to coverage that they can actually afford.

Florida small business health insurance requirements: What are your options?

Because Florida allows businesses of all sizes to reap the benefits of group plans, there are numerous options you can offer to your employees. In addition to the standard HMO and PPO plans, small business owners might find an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) to be a more affordable option. 

An ICHRA is an employer-owned health reimbursement account that allows employees to select their own health insurance and receive a reimbursement from the company for the cost of the plan. In addition to the lower cost, ICHRAs do not require as much management by the employer. Employees still receive the benefits of health coverage from their company.

Learn more about small business health insurance in Florida

If you want to learn about the different popular group health insurance plans available, you can read up on popular small business health insurance plans.

Small business health insurance in Florida can be easy to get when you use eHealth to search different plans. Visit our Florida small business health insurance page and get quotes on plans instantly.

This article is for general information and may not be updated after publication. Consult your own tax, accounting, or legal advisor instead of relying on this article as tax, accounting, or legal advice.