Health Insurance for the Self-Employed
One of the challenges of being self-employed is making sure that your health needs are covered. Medical expenses are on the rise and a simple visit to an emergency room can end up costing over a thousand dollars. If you are trying to get a business off the ground, a single health problem can set you back or even stop you from pursuing your goals.
Fortunately, there are several possibilities to explore.
If you have a spouse who has employment benefits, this would probably be the cheapest way to get health insurance. Additionally, employer-sponsored insurance programs are less likely to reject you for pre-existing conditions. The employer often pays part of the premium and you are lumped in with a lot of other people at the same company which reduces the risk on the part of the insurance company. That means the policy is going to be cheaper.
Another way to get insurance at least for eighteen months is to use the COBRA plan if you are quitting a job in order to become self-employed. Unfortunately, this can be a very expensive option because the employer is no longer paying part of the cost.
There are some places where you can work part time and still qualify for health insurance. It may not be the best health insurance out there but it is certainly better than nothing. Some of these places may have hours that will work for you: if your business requires you to be available during the late afternoon and evening, perhaps you could work mornings at a part time job, at least until your business is bringing in enough income to cover insurance.
Go to an insurance agent. Many agents sell health insurance plans. They may be expensive and you will have to watch out for limitations on pre-existing conditions. You may be able to find similar sorts of insurance on the web, however, there is a lot of insurance fraud, particularly companies that prey on self-employed people. Be sure to find out whether there are complaints about that particular company before signing up.
Consider your affiliations. For example, musicians who belong to a union may be able to get insurance through that union. Guilds, unions, and professional associations may have plans available to their members. The caveat here is that there are some “professional associations” that have been created solely to lure self-employed people into questionable insurance programs, so do your checking before you hand over any money.
Being self-employed means that you are your own boss and you can make decisions not only about what you do but the direction of your company. It is a much better alternative than sitting in a cubicle all day doing something that is meaningless. While health insurance is certainly a challenge for the would-be self-employed, overcoming that challenge is a great warm up for facing the other challenges and triumphs ahead.
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