Health insurance may seem expensive, especially for employees that do not have a very high salary. A lot of people who have opted for a health insurance policy offered by their employers may not want to continue with that policy in the next period if it seems expensive to them. But can employers reimburse their health insurance premiums? The answer is, yes they can.
It is very natural for a person to think about whether or not his/her employers would reimburse the health insurance premiums. However, this depends on the employers or the organisations whether their policies allow them to reimburse or not. A lot of employers have reimbursement arrangements but it can depend on a few things such as the type of health insurance plan, size of the organisation etc. Let’s find out why the company size is important in this case.
Why Company Size Matters?
As we have already mentioned that a lot of companies offer health insurance allowances but the company size can be a deciding factor here. It may be possible that a small company may not afford such arrangements. However, companies with more employees have to offer health insurance policies where they collect the premiums from their employees and can reimburse the amount later. It is also possible that they reimburse a partial amount.
Some companies do not provide health insurance policies to their employees and the employees have to get one from an insurance company. Even in that case, the employers can provide reimbursements if it is in their policies.
Type of Reimbursement Plans Companies Can Offer
Since we already know that an employer can provide reimbursement arrangements for health insurance premiums, let’s discuss a couple of ways in which they can do it-
- For individuals
- For groups
The employers can offer reimbursement plans for either the individuals or the groups in their companies. Generally, the group plans are meant for the smaller employers which are generally high-deductible plans. Here, the employer offers an allowance of tax-free money to their employees. With the individual plans, employers allow their employees to get their health insurance premiums that they have purchased from the open market reimbursed. This means that an individual can buy a plan from any insurance company and can get it reimbursed from their employer.
Read More: 8 Tips to Choose Best Health Insurance Plan in India
Conclusion
Health insurance can be expensive for a lot of people and it may contribute immensely to their monthly or annual expenses. Therefore, it is natural for the employees to seek reimbursement from their employers. So, the answer to the question of whether the employers reimburse the health insurance premiums or not is yes. There are several factors on which it can depend whether the employer provides a reimbursement facility or not such as the size of the company and the type of the plan. The company can offer reimbursement allowances to the individuals or the groups, as per their policies.
