Same price, either way
A plan costs the same through an agent as direct from the carrier. The carrier pays the commission out of that premium, so the help is free.
Four routes, one census
Group plan, ICHRA, QSEHRA or nothing formal: the same list of ages and home ZIPs prices all four, so the choice is made on numbers, not on a pitch.
The owner is separate
The owner’s own coverage follows the entity, and a healthy owner over the $63,840 line often compares a private plan from $180 a month at 40.
The numbers behind this site
Start where your business starts
RestaurantsConstructionDental practicesICHRAOne employeeTampa BayThe owner’s private plan
The short answer
The short answer: a business with 1 to 50 employees has four ways to handle health insurance, and the right one depends on three facts: how many people are on payroll, what they earn, and where they live. A group plan buys one plan for everyone in the small-group market; an ICHRA reimburses each employee for a plan they pick on the individual market; a QSEHRA does the same with a cap ($6,450 single / $13,100 family in 2026) for employers under 50 with no group plan; and nothing formal, where employees use the marketplace credit themselves and the owner buys privately. The owner’s own coverage is a fifth question with its own rules by entity type.
Every page here is built from public files: the CMS 2027 plan filings that price an ICHRA allowance county by county (the median Silver at 40 runs from $604 a month in Iowa to $1,254 in West Virginia across the 24 HealthCare.gov states on this site), the IRS rules for the credit and the owner, and BLS pay data for 30 kinds of business. The ZIP box on every page goes to a licensed agent who compares all four routes for your business, free; the premium is the same whether you use an agent or not.
A five-person team, priced
| Hillsborough County, 2027, full price | Cheapest Silver | Median Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Employee 1, age 27 | $540 | $636 |
| Employee 2, age 30 | $585 | $689 |
| Employee 3, age 40 | $658 | $775 |
| Employee 4, age 50 | $920 | $1,083 |
| Employee 5, age 60 | $1,398 | $1,646 |
| Five people, a month | $4,102 | $4,830 |
| A year | $49,223 | $57,955 |
CMS Plan Year 2027 plan files, every individual-market Silver plan filed in Hillsborough County (7 insurers, PPO plans among them); full price, before any credit. QSEHRA cap for single coverage: $6,450 a year in 2026 ($537 a month). A group quote for the same five comes from the carriers, from this census.
How it goes
- 1
List the team
Ages, home ZIPs, hours and rough pay for everyone on payroll. Owners and family are counted separately.
- 2
Four prices from one census
A licensed agent prices a group plan, an ICHRA and a QSEHRA for that list and runs the Form 8941 arithmetic.
- 3
Pick the route, cover the owner
The team’s route and the owner’s own plan are two decisions; both come back the way you like, usually the same day.
Common questions
What is the best small business health insurance?
There is no best plan, only the best route for a payroll. A business with 1 to 50 employees chooses between a small-group plan, an ICHRA, a QSEHRA and leaving staff on the marketplace, and three facts decide it: headcount, average pay and where people live. Modestly paid full-timers in one metro usually point to a group plan with the Form 8941 credit; a small or spread-out team points to an ICHRA or QSEHRA. The three structures side by side.
Can my LLC pay for my health insurance?
Yes; how it is taxed depends on how the LLC files. A single-member LLC or a partnership: the premium is the owner’s own and comes off above the line on the personal return (the self-employed health insurance deduction, Form 7206), whoever writes the check. An LLC taxed as an S corporation: the company pays or reimburses it, adds it to Box 1 of the owner’s W-2, and the owner takes the same deduction. An LLC taxed as a C corporation: a deductible business expense, tax-free to the owner-employee. A tax professional owns the return. By entity type.
What is the average cost of health insurance for a small business?
KFF’s 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey put the average premium at $28,303 a year for family coverage and $9,804 for single coverage, with workers paying $7,471 and $1,672 of it; workers at smaller firms pay a larger share. On the individual market an ICHRA or QSEHRA allowance buys, the median Silver plan for a 40-year-old in 2027 runs from $604 a month in Iowa to $1,254 in West Virginia across the 24 states here. What it costs, and the long version on Coverage by County.
How do small businesses provide health insurance?
Four ways: a group plan bought from a carrier or through SHOP; an ICHRA, a monthly allowance each employee spends on a plan of their own; a QSEHRA, the same with a federal cap, for employers under 50 with no group plan; or nothing formal, where staff use the marketplace credit. One census of the team prices all four. Start with your ZIP.
Can a business with one employee get health insurance?
Usually. Most carriers write a small group once there is one W-2 employee who is not the owner or the owner’s spouse, and a QSEHRA or ICHRA can be set up for a single person; the Form 8941 credit is at its fullest with one modestly paid full-timer. Rules differ by state and carrier. With one employee.
Do small businesses have to offer health insurance?
Not under 50 full-time equivalents. At 50 or more the employer mandate applies: coverage for full-time employees and their children, or a penalty, and the group moves to the large-group market with its own reporting. The 50-FTE line.
Who runs this
Plans For Small Business is one of five reference sites run by Health Advisory, the agency of Daniel Griffin, a licensed independent health insurance agent (NPN 22052447) in Valrico, Florida. Coverage by County holds every marketplace plan by county, Plans By State compares states, Plans By City reads the insurers’ hospital files, Plans For 1099 covers the self-employed with no staff. This one is for the owner with people on payroll. About · How the numbers are checked.
Now get the numbers for your own payroll.
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