Health Insurance Crisis affects New York Business Owners the Most

New York health insurance rates are about the highest in the country and small business owners in New York are feeling the squeeze. New Yorkers pay more in property taxes, state income taxes and when it comes to health insurance it’s not much different.

Small business owners in NY with 2-49 employees are subject to a system known as “community rating” which means that regardless of an employee’s age or gender the rates are the same for everyone. Community rating was implemented back in 1986 by the New York State Insurance Department to protect the consumer from unfair rate increases due to chronic illness or medical needs. But the system is antiquated and since the cost of health care has skyrocketed over the years, a business owner paying a flat rate for all employees just doesn’t seem fair anymore.

For instance, in NY, the monthly rate for a healthy 30 year old employee who rarely sees a doctor is the same rate as a 60 year old employee who has a chronic illness and sees the doctor 12 times a year. If you were to take your business across the Hudson River to New Jersey, the business owner would pay less monthly premium for the 30 year old employee than the 60 year old. Now that seems very fair. All 49 States price their health insurance rates this way except New York.

So the Bottom Line is this:

As a New York business owner who offers health insurance to one’s employees, you need to be more vigilant as to what type of health plan that you choose for your company. If your work force is young and doesn’t go to a Doctor very often, maybe a high deductible plan with higher co-pays would be a better choice. Your premiums will be lower with this type of “cost sharing” program and you will save a significant amount of money by using this strategy.

For a full, in-depth analysis of which health plan would be best for your company, please take a look at the products we offer or give us a call at (800) 514-3513 –