Before considering to cancel your group coverage and provide reimbursement toward Individuals policies, you should consider the possible repercussions to your employees. The advantage of providing health insurance as a group is that Small Business is guaranteed issue. In Nebraska, Individuals is not. This means that all of your employees, if they are required to apply for separate policies, may not be eligible. If they are all healthy, your company would not be offering them individual health plans. You would be offering them reimbursement for acquiring their own health insurance, in lieu of the current group health plan that they currently have. Are you currently offering the same contribution to all employees under the group health plan? Or, is your contribution a fied percentage of the charged premium for each employee? Perhaps lowering your employer contribution might be in the best interest of your employees. Their share of the premium could potentially be higher if they purchase individual health plans, depending on their age and health status. If you reimburse your employees for individual health plans, this will be considered a payroll bonus or salary increase for ta purposes. You could certainly provide a flat reimbursement amount for all employees. - Friday, October 16, 2009 @ 3:37pm