As a small business owner in Massachusetts with 2 to 50 employees, you can get a group rate on your health insurance and save money on your and your employees insurance premiums. Here's how small business health insurance works, and where you can get small business health insurance in Massachusetts at a discount rate.

Benefits of Small Business Health Insurance

With small business health insurance you and your employees pay lower premiums than you would with individual health insurance. You also get more extensive coverage, plus you get tax deduction for any health insurance contributions you make.

How Small Business Health Insurance Works

Health insurance rates and health insurance coverage are calculated for all participating employees using the group's average age and health. Any additions that an employee wants can be added to his or her policy for an extra fee.

Small Business Health Insurance Plans

Comprehensive small business health insurance plans pay for doctor visits, hospital visits, and prescription drugs. There are two types of small business health insurance plans:

Fee-For-Service Plans - Also known as indemnity plans, these plans let you use your own doctors, specialists, and hospitals. You pay an insurance premium for your plan, plus a deductible (usually $500 to $2,000) before your insurer begins to pay your claims. Most plans cover 80% of medical costs, and you or your employee pay the remaining 20%.

Fee-For-Service plans are the most expensive plans and involve the most paperwork.

Managed health care plans (HMOs, PPOs, POSs) - These plans restrict you to using doctors and hospitals within the health plan's network. With HMOs and POSs you or your employee pay a monthly premium and a co-payment (usually $5 to $10) for each doctor visit and your insurer pays your medical expenses. PPOs and POSs let you use non-network doctors and hospitals for an additional fee.

Managed health care plans are the least expensive plans and involve the least amount of paperwork.

Cheap Group Health Insurance Plans

To get a cheap group health insurance plan you need to shop rates from different companies. Thanks to the Internet, you can do this quickly and easily by going to an insurance comparison website. All you do is fill out a simple questionnaire with your insurance information and the amount of coverage you want, wait for your quotes, then choose the best plan with the best rate.