Global Health Insurance for Remote Workers

Offering global health insurance involves navigating the complex nature of international regulations, diverse healthcare systems, and varying employee needs. In this dynamic landscape, a thoughtful and strategic approach is essential to providing the necessary coverage and support to remote workers while adhering to local regulations. 

As organizations embrace remote work and expand their operations across borders, ensuring adequate health coverage for their dispersed workforce becomes a critical task. Navigating the intricacies of different countries’ insurance laws, identifying comprehensive coverage options that align with your global workforce’s requirements, and overcoming administrative hurdles pose significant obstacles for HR teams, especially for scaling startups.  

What is Global Health Insurance? 

Global health insurance provides medical coverage for individuals working remotely or traveling across multiple countries. It ensures access to healthcare services worldwide, offering flexibility and peace of mind for those frequently abroad. Coverage typically includes emergency care, hospital stays, and sometimes routine checkups, depending on the plan.

What Employers Should Know about Health Insurance for Remote Employees

Across the world, employers are tasked with providing private health insurance or registering employees for government healthcare. Even if it’s not necessary, offering health insurance may be your best bet to attract and retain top talent, and remain competitive during the recruiting process. 

Some countries like Germany and Spain already offer health care provided through their social security system, so understanding how to register remote employees for this government benefit should be a priority for HR. When hiring in the UK, it’s best to understand the Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) in the EU which allows UK citizens to access state-provided healthcare in EU countries at a reduced cost or sometimes for free. It replaces the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) post-Brexit, covering necessary medical treatment during temporary stays in EU nations.

Maintaining compliance while offering access to private insurance will mean different things in different countries. Depending on where you’re hiring, you’ll need to make sure that you’re meeting the necessary requirements. Finding the right remote work health insurance will ensure that you’re providing all employees with similar and fair coverage. 

You can also consider using a global EOR like Justworks. We can help craft competitive global health insurance packages tailored to the specific needs and regulations of local markets. By leveraging our expertise, an EOR ensures companies offer attractive benefits that align with local  standards, helping to attract and retain top talent.

Contractors

When working with contractors, consider offering them additional pay per project or a higher hourly salary, because they aren’t able to go onto a company insurance plan.  

Contractors should never be put on a businesses insurance policy, as this could lead to classification problems which often have expensive and legal repercussions. With Justworks, small business owners can use our International Contract Payment feature that allows you to pay contractors in over 30 countries. 

5 Options for Providing Global Health Insurance to Remote Employees 

1. Digital Nomad Insurance

Those who work as a digital nomad or under a remote work visa usually find their own health insurance that can double as international health and travel insurance. Digital nomads are known to travel frequently between countries and therefore may not be able to have health insurance solely in one country. 

Popular providers for remote health insurance options for digital nomads include: World Nomads, SafteyWing, and Atlas Travel Insurance. 

Digital nomad insurance typically covers more than just healthcare: 

• Emergency medical and dental expenses

• Flight cancellation or delay

• Baggage loss

• Lost passport 

• Political complications that lead to an evacuation

These options typically only work if the person is a digital nomad and moving around a lot. Digital nomads usually need coverage in multiple areas because they often work from anywhere and can run into last minute emergencies. 

2. Traditional Health Insurance 

Another type of coverage for remote global health insurance is for your business to engage directly with the insurance provider and set up a private health policy. 

With this route, employers will need to: 

• Have an entity (or home base operation) in one country (which takes time and resources)

• Set up an HR team to manage these benefits directly 

You may need to explore different health insurance policy options before deciding what fits your remote workers’ health needs best. If you are a small startup, you may have a workforce spread throughout multiple countries. Trying to open an entity in each place may be difficult, due to cost and time constraints. 

3. Health Stipends

A third option that many companies opt into is providing employees with health stipends or wellness stipends. A health stipend allows the employee to purchase their own individual plan that fits their needs (this may be a good choice for contractors if you want to offer additional benefits without putting them on payroll). 

Unfortunately, you aren’t able to get an employee discount (like you can with group healthcare plans), which can lead to additional costs to both the employer and employee. 

4. Reimbursement Plans

Another option, similar to a health stipend, is to offer a reimbursement plan. With this option, companies can give remote employees a reimbursement if they need to seek medical attention. Many employees are nervous to agree to this option, out of fear that they won’t be compensated correctly and may accumulate medical debt. 

Reimbursement plans could end up costing your business more money than just finding a regular plan that has set regulations and deductions. Most importantly, reimbursement plans and stipends normally don’t cover mental health or everyday health and wellness. These options are better suited as solutions for last minute emergency care. 

5. Partner with an EOR

Justworks hires and pays global employees on behalf of another small business. With Justworks, you can leave the HR burdens to us and streamline your focus on day-to-day operations. The most frequent scenario for using an EOR to offer remote health insurance is when a company wants to hire workers abroad but doesn’t have the time or resources to register a local entity. 

Justworks supports small businesses in minimizing the risks and costs associated with hiring employees in unfamiliar global talent markets. We offer expert local guidance on laws, regulations, total cost simulations, and cultural norms. All to help save you time, money, and wasted effort while expanding your team internationally.

How Justworks Can Help Small Businesses Expand Globally

Justworks enables small businesses to expand globally by handling the complexities of compliance in new markets. With expertise in local laws and regulations, an EOR can help tailor country-specific benefits packages, ensuring your company stays competitive and attractive to top talent. Focus on growing your business while an EOR manages payroll, benefits, and legal requirements seamlessly across borders. Ready to expand globally? Let Justworks help, and get started today!