In search of medical coverage for self employed

medical coverage for self employed

[amythepoet]

I am in search of medical coverage for the self employed

I am in rhode island and am running up against all kinds of brick walls, any help I would love it

thank you

[smallcompany]

There are online brokers (aggregators) that show you your options based on your zip code. That may be a good start just to see which insurance companies are offering a service in your area. Just doing a search on the topic will bring ads that offer it.

[cmendla]

Amy

You might want to try you local chamber of commerce or other business organizations. We are incorporated which helps a bit. I believe that you can get covered as a sole proprietership or partnership
.

Each state is probably a bit different. However, here in PA, we can get covered. Our chamber uses a broker and offers plans from low cost HMOs to full coverage plans

[weeks]

The New York Times has an entire special section on health insurance in today's newspaper for an overview on changes:
[well.blogs.nytimes.com...]

So, take a very serious look at "Health Savings Accounts." Bank of America has a very clear page on them. (I will not provide a link due to TOS and fear of looking like an ad.)

You can pay for health care costs with pre-tax dollars. The HSA reduces your overall tax bite AND you get to pay with pre-tax dollars. This way you can better afford a higher deductible.

Many are paying high deductibles now. $1,500 a year is not unusual anymore.

Neat trick if you have an IRA--you get to roll over some money from the IRA to an HSA account, but only once.

[lawman]

Does your line of work have some professional or quasi-professional organization you can join that might offer a group plan?

[weeks]

To get something "affordable", you're going to have to look at a deductable of about $10,000. With that and a HSA of about $5,000 and a credit card with a credit line ready of $10,000, and you've got insurance in a manner of speaking.

Yes, you're going to have to pay into the HSA--add that into the cost of being insured. But, it's not just cash, it tax free and you can use it on most tax everything healthwise in your budget, so the saving can be real.

[Jane_Doe]

A friend of mine who is self employed has a HSA with health insurance through NASE, National Association for the Self Employed, and has been happy with this set up.

Good luck in your search. I hope the new health care law will make it easier for you to get coverage.