A Massachusetts group health insurance provider can issue a group policy for only a single eligible employee with one contract to cover the whole group. The group usually consists of the employees of a business, but also may be the members of a professional organization or labor union.

Massachusetts group health insurance providers offer advantages in addition to medical care. The employer contributions for group health insurance are almost always tax deductible and group health insurance providers in Massachusetts also have lower premiums and greater coverage for a group health plan because the financial risk is distributed between all the members.

Three key points that affect the premium of group health insurance in Massachusetts are:

1. The health provider network. A Massachusetts group insurance company usually requires that a policy holder's health care provider be a member of a designated Preferred Provider Organization before the treatment will be covered.

2. Policies with lower deductibles are more expensive. The deductible is the amount the employee pays before health insurance companies in Massachusetts will pay for treatment.

3. Policies with a higher coverage limit will be more expensive. This is the maximum amount that Massachusetts group health insurance providers pay for a given treatment.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Contact Massachusetts group insurance companies

Massachusetts does not allow medical underwriting, making it difficult for private carriers to provide health insurance.

I recommend: Review the group health plans available at Blue Cross of Massachusetts. They are one of the few group health insurance providers in Massachusetts.

Look to professional associations for information about Massachusetts group health insurance

The restrictions on group health insurance in Massachusetts make it helpful to join an existing group that already offers group health insurance.

I recommend: Go to the Massachusetts Department of Insurance for assistance in locating professional associations which your business might be qualified to join.

Use Massachusetts group health insurance agents as brokers

A broker can be especially helpful in finding the right group health insurance for your small business in Massachusetts.

I recommend: Contact SmallBusinessHealthInsuranceMA.com. It works only with small businesses in Massachusetts and is familiar with the laws in Massachusetts regarding group health insurance.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Provide part-time employees a health care plan that is customized for their needs. Massachusetts group insurance companies are usually best able to serve your employees with a less expensive plan that provides basic coverage for essential benefits and discounts on some services that are not covered outright. Flexible Spending Accounts are another method that a part-time employee can use to manage health care costs.
• •  Offer a consumer-driven group health insurance plan for employees who wish to be more engaged in their health care. This type of group health insurance in Massachusetts usually offsets a low-cost, high-deductible plan with Health Reimbursement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts that allow a member to manage expenditures more closely than with a traditional health care plan.