Research Tools: Federal Government Enhances Resource to Assist Small Businesses in Finding Health Insurance Plans

From HHS:

A greatly expanded website to give small business owners an unprecedented detailed review of their health insurance plan choices was announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This powerful new tool allows small business owners to compare the benefits and costs of health plans and choose those that are best for their employees. For the first time ever, it will allow small businesses to research locally available products in an unbiased manner and foster a more transparent and competitive marketplace.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services worked to define and collect detailed benefits and premium rating information from insurers across the country to develop the site.
The new information added gives small business owners access to the following:

• Insurance product choices for a given ZIP code, sorted by out-of-pocket limits, average cost per enrollee, or other factors.
• A summary of cost and coverage for small group products that shows the available deductibles, range of co-pay options, included and excluded benefits, and benefits available for purchase at additional cost.
• The ability to filter product selection based on whether the plans are Health Savings Account eligible, have prescription drug, mental health, or maternity coverage, or allow for domestic partner or same sex coverage.

More than 530 insurers have provided information for more than 2,700 coverage plans across all states and the District of Columbia.

More In this HHS Blog Post
Direct to Find Insurance Options
See Also: Comparing Health Care Providers Fed. Gov Resources
Direct links to databases the let users compare physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and dialysis facilities.

Filed under: Patrons and Users, Resources