Once you have a plan in place, you must deal with the tasks and issues that come with maintaining and administering the plan.

With most health plans, a fair amount of the administration is taken care of by the company, agent, or alliance that you have the insurance with. However, that does not mean that you're totally off the hook. You'll still have to perform some duties and complete some paperwork as the employer providing health benefits. Here are some of the tasks you'll be faced with:

• enrolling employees and making changes as necessary
• deducting premiums from the employee's wages and remitting them to the insurance company
• acting as a liaison between employees and the insurer
• terminating benefits and extending COBRA coverage
• complying with reporting and disclosure requirements