How to Offer Health Insurance to Employees in Duval County

Step 1: Confirm Eligibility

Any Florida business with at least one W-2 employee beyond the owner qualifies for small group health coverage. Jacksonville's diverse economy — financial services, logistics, healthcare, military contracting, retail — spans many business types and sizes that qualify. The minimum requirement is simply one genuine W-2 employee on payroll.

Step 2: Define Your Eligible Employee Class

Most Jacksonville small employers start with full-time employees averaging 30+ hours/week as their eligible class. You can also:

Set a waiting period of up to 90 days for new hires
Create separate classes (management vs. hourly) with different contribution levels
Exclude part-time or seasonal employees from the eligible class

Your eligibility rules must be written, consistently applied, and not based on health status or prior claims history.

Step 3: Choose Carriers for Duval County

Carrier	Key Jacksonville Network	Best For
Florida Blue	Baptist Health, UF Health Jacksonville, Mayo Clinic Florida, Ascension St. Vincent's	Employees with existing doctor relationships at major systems
Aetna	Baptist Health partnership; strong metro network	Mid-size groups 11–50; competitive pricing
Ambetter	Broad Jacksonville network; lowest premiums	SHOP-eligible employers managing cost

Step 4: Handle Military/TRICARE Waivers

Duval County has one of Florida's largest active-duty and veteran populations due to NAS Jacksonville, Mayport Naval Station, and related installations. Employees with TRICARE coverage waive your group plan with "other coverage" — this is the most favorable waiver category for participation ratio purposes. For Jacksonville defense contractors, this often makes meeting carrier participation requirements straightforward.

Jacksonville Military Note: If several of your employees are veterans or active-duty spouses with TRICARE, survey this before applying. TRICARE waivers are counted as "have other coverage" — they improve your net participation ratio rather than hurting it. A team of 10 employees where 3 have TRICARE and 6 of the remaining 7 enroll gives you an 86% participation rate among non-TRICARE employees.

Step 5: Apply and Set Up the Plan

Application requirements:

Employee census: age/date of birth and home zip code for all eligible employees
Dependent information for enrolling dependents
Business EIN, legal name, and business address
Desired contribution amount and plan tier selection

Most Duval County group plans are approved within 5–10 business days. Coverage begins on the first of the month following approval. You can start the process at any time of year.

Step 6: SHOP Credit Enrollment

If your business qualifies for the SHOP tax credit (under 25 FTEs, average wages under $62,000), purchase your plan through the healthcare.gov SHOP marketplace to be eligible for the credit. We assist with SHOP marketplace enrollment as part of our standard service. The credit is claimed on Form 8941 with your tax return.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Jacksonville business has 15 employees but only 8 are full-time. Can I still get a group plan?

Yes — you only need to offer coverage to your full-time eligible class (the 8 full-time employees). The 7 part-time employees are not in the eligible class and don't affect your participation ratio. As long as a sufficient percentage of your 8 eligible employees enroll (or waive with other coverage), you meet the carrier's participation requirement. A group of 8 with 5 enrolling and 2 waiving with other coverage gives you a 100% participation rate among non-waived eligible employees.

Can I offer health insurance to employees who work from home outside of Duval County?

Yes. Remote employees are covered under your group plan. Their premiums are rated based on their home county, not your business location. An employee working remotely from St. Johns County or Clay County will be rated at those counties' rates. Most carriers blend the rates proportionally across your employee census. Your business being headquartered in Duval County doesn't restrict where your employees can live.

Contact Us About Your Duval County Business

We serve Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Orange Park, Ponte Vedra, and all of Duval County. Call (877) 224-8539 or use the form. Florida License #L088529.