Small business owners now have access to a detailed review of their health insurance plan choices. The tool, announced by the Deparment of Health and Human Services, allows small business owners to compare the benefits and costs of health plans and choose those that are best for their employees. It will allow small businesses to research locally available products in an unbiased manner.
According to DHHS, in addition to the market being difficult to analyze, small businesses do not fare as well as large employers when negotiating health care prices. On average small businesses spend 18 percent more for the same health insurance coverage. This new tool aims to bring transparency to the marketplace, which could help encourage insurance companies to compete for business on the basis of price and quality.
The tool is located on http://www.healthcare.gov/, which was created under requirements contained in the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law of 2010.