While Canadians have plenty of services covered under federal and provincial health care plans, they often require additional benefits in order to deal with the rest. Thankfully, most Canadians receive this health care through their employers, the majority of which are small businesses. Using small business health insurance benefits for this care can extend from paying for medications to covering mental health spending and other treatments.
However, most people don’t know that they have a choice when it comes to which types of small business health insurance benefits they can choose. Let’s take a look at some of the differences in these plans.
Group Benefits for Small Business
Group benefits offer employees a specific set of health care benefits all paid for with a premium. This premium comes out of each pay period and may cover some or all health care-related costs. Some group benefits may be used for specific services. For example, many employers offer special plans for vision and dental coverage. Employees with more comprehensive plans may pay more for these services, which is useful if they happen to need them. However, those with more basic plans may not see all of their services covered or pay more than they need to.
Health Spending Accounts
Health spending accounts are a fairly new type of plan that allow employees to place 100% pre-taxed dollars into their own account. These accounts are approved by the Canada Revenue Agency and can actually offer tax advantages for employees at the end of the year; they also lower employment taxes for each paycheque. By using this service, those who are insured can select any services they need and use their HSA plan to pay for up to 100% of the out of pocket costs associated with that care. This flexible plan is favored by many employers for its low costs and tax advantages, as well.
Those who have questions about their employers’ small business health insurance benefits should ask an HR professional for more details. General questions can go into the comments below. Read more here.
