How do I Choose the Best Medical Reimbursement Plan?

Choosing the best medical reimbursement plan typically involves considering your goals for establishing the plan and how it will benefit those who enroll in it. You may also consider whether or not a plan is a good fit for a company of your size or for you if you are seeking a plan as a self-employed individual. Additionally, when making a decision, you may consider the ease with which payments can be made and claims submitted.

A medical reimbursement plan may be the right choice if you want to contribute a set amount to your employees’ health care each year. This contributed money is set aside for the employee to use as needed for health expenses. These plans may help you keep the cost of providing medical benefits low. This type of plan may also prove a good choice if you are self-employed and hoping to set aside money for health care while keeping your overall insurance costs low.

If you have a smaller company, with up to 50 employees, a medical savings account may be a good option. This plan can be offered as part of your benefits package for employees, and the money within it is tax deferred. This type of plan is beneficial combined with other insurance that features a high deductible. As medical expenses are incurred, the employee pays for them out of this account. Once the deductible is met, however, the employee's regular coverage for medical expenses begins.

A health savings account is another type of medical reimbursement plan which accumulates money for medical expenses and is tax free. With this type of plan, you can have your employees contribute money, you can contribute money, or you can include a combination of employee and employer contributions. This is a good option if you want the ability to roll balances over to other health savings accounts.

Generally, medical savings accounts are more restrictive in terms of who qualifies and contributes. With this type of account, the employer and the employee cannot make contributions to the account in the same year. Health savings accounts, on the other hand, allow you to make combined contributions. Additionally, medical savings accounts place more restrictions on the amount an employee or employer can contribute each year.

You may also consider the ease with which you can get reimbursed for expenses when comparing medical reimbursement plan options. Depending on the size of your business and the number of employees you have to insure, you may feel most comfortable with a medical reimbursement plan that allows you to pay medical benefits via a credit or debit card. Additionally, you may consider medical reimbursement plans based on the ease with which your employees will be able to use them. For example, 24-hour customer service and the availability of online claim submission may influence your decision. The ease of claim submission may also prove important if you are seeking insurance as a self-employed individual.