Navigating Small Business Health Insurance

Small business owners face unique challenges when it comes to health insurance, and CFP professionals are often the first trusted advisor they turn to for guidance. This session will equip you with a clear framework for evaluating and explaining the full spectrum of small business health insurance options. We’ll cover the differences between fully funded, level-funded, and self-funded plans, while also examining alternative approaches like The Stipend Model, Qualified Small Employer HRAs (QSEHRAs), and Individual Coverage HRAs (ICHRAs). Along the way, you’ll learn how to weigh cost predictability, tax treatment, compliance requirements, and employee satisfaction in order to recommend the right solution for each business owner’s situation. Through real-world case studies, you’ll see how these models play out in practice and how to identify red flags that can derail a client’s plan.

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate between fully funded, level-funded, and self-funded health insurance models, and evaluate which funding structure best aligns with a small business client’s financial and risk profile.
2. Analyze the tax treatment, compliance requirements, and employee impact of stipends, QSEHRAs, and ICHRAs, and determine when each option is appropriate.
3. Apply a step-by-step decision-making framework to real world case studies in order to develop tailored health insurance strategies that support both the client’s business goals and financial plan.