With all the work that comes with gaining a new employee, you thankfully don’t need to be uncertain about when to sign them on with your group plan. If you want to make the most of your investment in your workforce, add them right away. It will save you and your new hire time and effort immediately, and you won’t have to worry about some of the long-term consequences with delaying.
Bringing your employee onto your plan within their initial window of eligibility keeps them from being classed as “late” by your insurer. It’s probably obvious that they don’t want to be in that group. Latecomers to a plan will be met with medical questionnaires and exams on their health. These exams are, at best, time and energy you’d rather have spent at your company’s benefit. At worst, a poor test result can exclude an employee’s conditions or medications for the entire lifetime of your plan. Three short months of inaction can lead to years of missed benefits.
When submitting new employee paperwork early, it doesn’t mean you start paying right away. There are no premiums during the employee probationary period and the insurance company will handle activating them at the right time.
Fortunately for the proactive, getting your employee added within those three months can prevent those ominous tests and the threat of exclusions. Insurance companies waive medical questionnaires and exams for punctual members, and any existing condition or medication your new hire needs can be covered.
Employees value the benefits a group plan can provide, so make sure that you capitalize on what helps attract them in the first place. Add them to your plan the moment they’re eligible, and then there’s no need to worry about time-consuming tests and costly exclusions.
