Compare small business health insurance before you renew.
Group Health USA is an independent agency that helps employers compare small business health insurance from every carrier in their area. Send your ZIP code and team size, and a licensed agent lays out group plans, level-funded plans and ICHRA side by side before your renewal date.
- Independent, so we quote every carrier, not one
- Teams from 1 employee to more than 100
- Your premium is the same as buying direct
Compare your options
Tell us about your group. A licensed agent compares the carriers in your area and follows up with options.
Small business health insurance options
A traditional group plan is one choice, not the only one. Most teams start with a health option, then add the benefits people use.
- Small group health insurance Best fit: Most teams of 1 to 50 that want a traditional plan A fully insured plan from one carrier. You pay a fixed monthly premium, and ACA rules mean health history never changes your price.
- Level-funded health plans Best fit: Healthier teams open to a short health questionnaire A steady monthly cost that covers claims, admin and stop-loss protection. Low claims can mean a lower rate, and some plans refund part of the surplus.
- ICHRA Best fit: Teams spread across states, or owners who want a set budget You set a monthly allowance. Employees pick their own individual plans, and you reimburse them tax free. Works for any company size.
- QSEHRA Best fit: Businesses under 50 employees with no group plan A simple reimbursement plan with yearly limits set by the IRS. A low-cost first step for very small teams.
- Group dental and vision Best fit: Any employer adding benefits beside a health plan Low-cost add-ons employees use every year. Offer them with your health plan or on their own, paid by you, your team or both.
- Group life and disability Best fit: Employers rounding out a benefits package Employer-paid life insurance plus short-term and long-term disability coverage that protects your team's income. Group rates often beat individual policies.
How a quote works
Renewals land when you are busiest. Here is how we check yours against the market.
- Send your details or your renewal. ZIP code, team size and your current plan if you have one. No medical questions.
- We shop the market. A licensed agent confirms we serve your state, then quotes every carrier selling where your business is based.
- You pick, we handle the switch. Choose a plan and we take care of the application, employee enrollment and every renewal after.
How small business health insurance works
Most employers with 1 to 50 workers buy health coverage in the small group market. The Affordable Care Act sets the rules there: carriers must accept any business that meets their requirements, every plan covers the same ten benefit categories, and prices can only change with age, location, tobacco use and family size. Nobody's health history moves your rate. In California, Colorado, New York and Vermont, the small group market runs up to 100 employees.
Carriers add two checks of their own. Most want around 70% of eligible employees to enroll, and most want you to pay at least half of each employee's own premium. Our guide to participation and contribution rules explains who counts and what to do if you fall short.
A fully insured small group plan is the steady default. A level-funded plan prices your group on its own health and can cost less for a younger team. An ICHRA turns your contribution into a fixed allowance that employees spend on individual plans, which works well for teams spread across several states. You can round out any of them with group dental and vision.
What 2027 renewals look like
Each year carriers file the rate changes they want for the next plan year. In the filings we track for 2027, most carriers asked for double-digit increases. In Missouri, requests run from about 12.6% to 17.2%. In Kansas, they run from about 9.6% to 13.4%.
Those numbers are averages across each carrier's whole book. Your renewal can land higher or lower depending on your plan, your team's ages and your county. That spread is the reason to compare before you sign. See every filing in our 2027 rate increase guide, then use the renewal checklist to plan the 90 days before your date.
Benefits beyond health insurance
Many small employers add a few low-cost benefits once the health plan is set. Group dental and vision cover the routine care employees use every year, and group life and disability protect a paycheck if illness or injury keeps someone out of work. We quote them with your health plan so you see the full monthly cost in one place.
Why buy through an independent agency
Small group premiums are filed with regulators, so the price of a plan does not change based on who sells it. What changes is how much of the market you see. A carrier's own sales team shows you its own plans. We quote every carrier selling where your business is based, and we price alternatives like level-funding and ICHRA next to them.
We work with businesses of every size, from a two-person shop offering coverage for the first time to a company of 100 or more weighing level-funding. If you have a renewal on the calendar and no benefits staff, we do the legwork so the owner or office manager only has to make the decisions.
After you enroll, you keep the same agent. Questions during the year come to us, and before each renewal we check your new rates against the market and tell you whether it is worth moving.
Group health insurance across the country
We quote small group plans nationwide and publish state guides one market at a time, starting where we track rate filings.
- Group Health KansasCarriers and 2027 rate filings
- Group Health MissouriCarriers and 2027 rate filings
Questions about small business health insurance
Something else? Ask a licensed agent.
How many employees do I need for a group health plan?
In most states, a business needs at least one employee who is not an owner or an owner's spouse. Carriers add their own participation and contribution rules on top, so the real minimum depends on the plan you pick.
Is a group plan cheaper than having employees buy their own?
Sometimes. The answer turns on your team's ages, where they live and how much you want to contribute. For some teams an ICHRA, where you reimburse individual plans, costs less. We price both so you can see the gap.
When should I start shopping before my renewal?
Start 60 to 90 days before your renewal date. Carriers usually send small group renewals in that window, and you need time to compare, collect employee choices and file paperwork before the deadline.
Do you only work with businesses in certain states?
We quote small business health insurance across the country and confirm we can serve your state before we send anything. If we cannot help where you are, we say so up front.
What does it cost to work with Group Health USA?
Nothing. Quotes and advice cost you nothing. Carriers pay our commission when you enroll, and because small group premiums are filed with regulators, you pay the same price you would pay buying direct.
Get your quote before renewal
Tell us about your team. A licensed agent compares plans from the carriers in your area and sends you options.
- Free, with no obligation to buy
- Small group, level-funded and ICHRA compared
- A licensed agent handles your request