Health Insurance for Multi-State Businesses: A Guide for Understanding the Benefits, Drawbacks, and Steps to Providing Health Benefits for Employees

health insurance for multi state businesses

Are you a multi-state business owner? Have you been looking at different benefits and are overwhelmed with all the choices? Do you feel you need help designing a benefits package that works for your organization?

It’s understandable to be overwhelmed and confused when selecting health insurance for your business. If you do a quick Google search, you will find more options than you could have ever imagined.

Your business’s decision to offer health coverage is an important one. However, choosing a plan for your business and employees requires careful consideration of costs and covered services.

Keep reading to learn how to make choosing health insurance for your multi-state business much less overwhelming and doable.

Table of Contents

Health Insurance for Multi-State Businesses: How Employers Benefit

Health insurance for multi-state businesses offers several benefits for employers — regardless of whether they are a small business or large corporation.

Here are three of the most common benefits of offering health insurance to employees across multiple states.

Provides Coverage for Employees Who Travel Frequently or Work in Multiple States

At 9:00 a.m. you are on a phone call with an employee on the East Coast. At 10:00 am, you are in a Zoom meeting with West Coast employees.

With more than half the U.S. workforce working remotely, today’s employees are more dispersed than ever. Having employees all over the country makes it challenging to find appropriate health insurance options that provide in-network coverage for everyone in the company.

Fortunately, employers of all sizes of businesses can implement multi-state health insurance programs without buying plans from multiple insurers.

This can be a great benefit for companies with employees in multiple states.

Provides Peace of Mind

Are you concerned some employees might not have proper coverage? Are you worried you didn’t select the best plan for your business? Worrying about employees and their different insurance plans can be a thing of the past.

With an insurance plan that provides coverage for employees in every state your business is in, you can rest assured your employees are covered no matter where they reside.

Avoids Uninsured Penalties

Speaking of worrying, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), worrying about dealing with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)) can now be a huge concern for businesses.

Under the ACA, employers must provide affordable health insurance to their employees.

For businesses with 50 or more full-time employees, not offering health insurance can result in penalties. The mandate requires employers to provide coverage to 95% of their full-time employees and their dependents.

The IRS penalizes an employer who fails to provide health coverage.

When you partner with Nevada Benefits, you can relax knowing we have selected the best health insurance option for your business. Your employees will be protected — and so will you.

Do you want to feel more confident when your company’s open enrollment time rolls around? Click below to request your complimentary quote.

Health Insurance for Multi-State Businesses: Drawbacks for Employers

There are benefits for multi-state businesses when providing health insurance — but there are drawbacks too. Here are some of the most common issues businesses encounter.

Difficulty Finding Insurance

Many insurance carriers will look at having different employees in different states as a challenge, and it’s true, it can be.

For example, some insurance companies have stipulations on insurance for multi-state businesses.

Often, the insurance carrier might require that a corporate office has 50% of its staff in a specific state. Additionally, other insurance companies might not want anything to do with a business whose employees are spread out over the U.S.

Insurers target different audiences, and unfortunately, your multi-state business may not be on your preferred insurance company’s list. It may help to find companies with networks around the country.

What if Most Employees Live Outside the Business’s State Headquarters?

Do most of your employees live outside the business’s state headquarters?

Multi-state insurance is still an option, however, you might need policies with a few different carriers.

If the thought of different policies, benefits, states, etc., makes your head spin, it might be time to let an expert take over.

Want to save your sanity while looking for the best insurance options for your multi-state business? Look no further than Nevada Benefits. We monitor hundreds of insurance companies to find you the best rate possible.

Our goal is to serve you, not the insurance companies!

Administrative Challenges

There are always administrative challenges when it comes to employee insurance, but multi-state business insurance is an entirely different matter.

Different state laws may pose challenges for employers when it comes to benefits. By establishing programs and policies to offset benefit discrepancies resulting from state differences, businesses may be able to address the inequities that arise.

There is, however, an increase in administrative work due to all of these factors.

Additionally, consider employee movement. Keeping track of inpatient and outpatient coverage across different providers and platforms can be an administrative nightmare for HR managers with thousands of employees in multiple states.

3 Tips for Choosing the Right Health Insurance for Your Multi-State Business

Now that you know the benefits and drawbacks of multi-state insurance, let’s look at some tips for choosing the right health insurance for your company.

#1: Understand the Basics

Health insurance designed for businesses with employees in multiple states can cover medical expenses, prescription drugs, and more.

Before selecting an insurance carrier, ensure their policy covers the desired benefits for your employees.

#2: Research the Options

There are a variety of plans and providers to choose from, so it’s important to compare options and find the best fit for your business.

Do you want a single health plan for all employees? Would you like to allow your employees to pick and choose the benefits they prefer?

There are several options, so knowing what is important to you and your employees is essential.

#3: Understand State Penalties

Penalties can occur if you select a plan that does not cover all your employees. In addition, your business may be subject to a fine if a particular policy does not cover an employee.

It’s essential to research the penalties, especially in individual states, before choosing a policy.

Nevada Benefits: Helping Multi-State Businesses in Nevada Provide Health Insurance for Their Employees

It would be ideal if you have an insurance broker who:

  • Focuses on your business and employees
  • Finds the best plan for your budget and requirements; and
  • Represents you when there is a problem with the insurance company


As your local, independent insurance team, Nevada Benefits is all that and more.

With over 30 years of experience, we are Nevada’s leading benefits provider, helping businesses access affordable health insurance — regardless of the number of states they are in.

Leave selecting a health insurance plan to the professionals.

Contact Nevada Benefits today to learn more.

 

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