Health Insurance For The Self Employed
 |
You Know You Need Health Insurance....
But With So Many Options and Companies. How Do You Make Sense Of It All?
Simple: Use this free site to compare all the major health insurance companies, instantly and painlessly.
All you need to do is enter a few simple details, and right away you'll see exactly what the major insurance companies can really offer, and what will work best for you and your situation. Get your free quotes right now |
Health Insurance For The Self Employed
By: Jeff Colburn
The biggest concern I hear from people who
are thinking about starting, or already have, their own business
is the lack of health insurance.
What most people don't know is that there are many options available
that will allow you to have both medical and dental
insurance without having a large company paying most of the
premiums.
When you go looking for health insurance,
you need to know the four main types.
* Fee-For Service. With this plan you pay
a percentage of the cost with every doctors visit. The standard
is 80/20 where the insurance company pays 80% and you pay 20%. You
must meet your yearly deductible, however, before the insurance
company begins paying anything. Most deductibles range between $200
and $1,000. The higher the deductible the lower your monthly premiums.
* Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).
HMO's usually have no deductible, but you have to make a co-pay
for each visit. The co-pay usually ranges between $5 and $20. With
HMO's you can only go to doctors that are members of the HMO. You
select a primary physician who coordinates all of your medical care
and who will refer you to any specialist you may need to see.
* Preferred Provider Organization (PPO). As with HMO's, there is
usually no deductible and you have a co-pay for each visit. You
must choose a doctor that's a member of the PPO to get full coverage.
You can go to a doctor who's not a member, but you will have to
pay more, usually about 20% of the cost. PPO's give you more freedom
of choice, but the premiums are usually higher than with an HMO.
* Point of Service (POS) plan. It's similar to a PPO, but if you
want a primary care doctor to coordinate your medical care you can
select one.
If you are leaving a company where you had
insurance then you should check out COBRA. The federal government
set up the COBRA program for employees, and their dependents, of
companies with at least twenty employees. If you leave your company,
or are laid off, then you can continue your health
insurance for between eighteen and thirty-six months. These
rates are higher than you have paid in the past, though. You will
not only be paying your share of the insurance premium, but also
the amount your employer used to pay. For example, with one company
I was laid off from, my monthly health insurance premium would have
jumped from $25 to $239. If you have a lot of medical bills, this
may be well worth the cost.
If your spouse has insurance, you should
look into putting yourself on their policy. Many times you don't
even have to be married. You can be added under "Significant
Other" coverage.
Check with any organizations you belong to.
I can get insurance through several writing organizations, as well
as my college alumni association. Some people join an organization
just to take advantage of an insurance program they offer. If you
look around, you will find that almost every field has at least
one organization representing them. Many of these organizations
offer some kind of health insurance.
There are other nontraditional sources of
insurance too. The credit union I belong to offers inexpensive life
insurance. Actually, they give me $1,000 of life insurance at
no cost. My credit card company offers many forms of insurance at
no cost, including car rental, travel, health while on trips and
more. Check all of these sources to see what they offer. One way
to find places to check into is to look into your wallet. What cards
do you have there? Clubs, organizations, unions, credit cards, alumni
associations and more.
There is also a membership discount store
in my town called Sam's Club. It's like a Costco or Fedco. They
offer a dental discount program. It's not insurance, but for about
$70 a year I can become a member. I get a discount card that I can
take to participating dentists, and get their services for a discount.
The only drawback is that most of the dentists in the program are
in large cities. Be sure to check this out before you join to be
sure your dentist is part of the program.
There are ways to get medical care that is
free or inexpensive without using insurance. In my town, there is
a health clinic that has a sliding scale based on income. There's
also a dental school in town that has very inexpensive rates if
you let the students work on you. I know people that drive for over
an hour to use this facility and they think it's wonderful.
In Arizona, there is also the AHCCCS Program
(Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System) which offers low cost
insurance for low-income households with an annual income of up
to $18,000. Check with your state to see if it has a program like
this.
Consider an option that requires no insurance.
Put money into a bank account. I know of one person who put $2,000
into a bank account before starting her own business. The money
would be used for any medical expenses. Over the next two years,
she put another $8,000 into the account. So far, this has taken
care of all the medical problems that have arisen for her family
of four. If you want even more security, you could set up a savings
account, and have catastrophic insurance coverage with a high deductible.
Just decide what you are comfortable with. I usually go with the
minimal coverage because I have virtually no health problems. I'm
in my late forties, and in the past twelve years I have only gone
to a doctor once and I take no medication. The only recurring health
problem I have is getting new glasses every five years or so, and
having the occasional filling. I've always been very healthy and
I don't see this changing any time soon.
One last note about insurance. If you are
going to have clients coming to your home, you should look into
liability insurance with medical reimbursement coverage. I had this
several years ago when I ran a photography studio out of my house.
Fortunately, I never had to use it, but I did come close one day.
A woman came in for a portrait and brought her friend, who also
had a one-month-old baby. As we were getting ready, I told the mother
that she and her baby could sit in a chair across the room. I pointed
out a very bright orange extension cord and told her to be careful.
She looked at the cord and said she would be. She then proceeded
across the room and tripped on the cord. Visions of her falling
on top of her baby flashed through my head before she caught her
balance. Everyone was fine, but I was very glad that I had the insurance,
just in case.
What you need to do, as a self-employed person
seeking health insurance, is to be creative and look everywhere.
Contact every club, credit card and organization you belong to,
and don't forget the college you graduated from. Call your city
and state government to see what programs they offer too. Use that
same creativity that keeps your business successful to find all
your options, and then select the one that's best for you. Be sure
to read the fine print so you know what is, and isn't, covered by
a plan before you join.
You can find
more Health Insurance Information
here
|
