Netsurity

What is a Group Healthcare Plan?

Group healthcare plans are ones employers take out to offer their employees as a benefit for working for them. Such plans require that a certain number of employees sign up, typically more than 200, in order to obtain coverage, so usually only mid-size to large companies can qualify for these types of plans.

When a person signs up as part of a group plan, there usually is no medical exam or medical history required because laws prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage of employees to group medical plans. This is usually the only way that individuals with preexisting conditions can get medical coverage, because they cannot qualify for individual plans or they cannot afford them.

Group plan members generally have their health insurance plan premiums deducted from their paychecks on a weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly basis, depending on when their employer pays them. The employer takes out the employee’s share of their premium before they sign the check on payday. Employers and employees generally share the cost of these premiums, the employee paying a percentage and the employer paying a percentage.
Coverage on group plans is usually more general than individual plans, covering a bit of everything. Many plans cover parts of everything from prescriptions to surgeries, but there is a great deal of complexity in obtaining certain doctor-prescribed medications and procedures sometimes because of the insurance company’s rules about obtaining these services.