Self employed health insurance is a challenging product to find, particularly in the United States. Part of the problem with getting health insurance in general is that during World War II, when there were wage and price controls, health insurance became one of the benefits offered by your employer. It can be expensive but with some information in hand before you start shopping, good and affordable deals can be found.
For health insurance carriers, being bundled as an employment benefit means that there's less risk in offering a policy. With lower risk in creating the policy, the standard "comprehensive" policy can be cheaper and cover a wider assortment of coverages. Since it's a pre-tax expense for corporations under US tax code, this means that there's a strong incentive for companies to cover part (and in a few cases, all) health care expenses for their employers.
However, self employed health insurance trying to reach the same levels of coverage offered by a standard employer gets tricky. The policies, being for an individual rather than a group, result in higher expenses for the same level of services.
This means that the first thing a self employed person should do when they're looking for self employed health insurance is start looking at what coverage they're actually going to need. Full comprehensive health insurance gets very pricey; being able to shop for services on a menu plan can reduce costs considerably - for example, raising deductibles, or accepting that you don't need certain types of industrial compensation are useful ways to trim back costs and keep the health insurance affordable..
Many people needing self employed health insurance can get it through their spouse's employer's group policy. The vast majority of romance writers, for instance, tend to have health insurance through their spouse's medical plans. Others belong to organizations that can offer a group rate health insurance program, which, while still expensive compared to a standard employer benefit plan, is still worlds cheaper than a single policy health plan package.
If you're about to become self employed (voluntarily), the best route to cover the transition to self employed health insurance is to use the COBRA coverage at your current employer, which lets you pay to retain the coverage you're currently getting while getting your career off the ground. Switch to the least expensive health care plan your provider has, budget two payments up front as part of your leaving work funds management, and then move on. Be cautious not to let your coverage lapse even for a millisecond, since that then can open you up to the new provider not covering an existing condition.
While shopping for self employed health insurance coverage, take the time to comparison shop. There are a lot of rate comparison sites out there, and it's worth your time to compare as you go. If you have several colleagues in the same field, they may be able to refer you to agents and underwriters who specialize in self employed health insurance, or you may be able to get a joint (as opposed to group) policy that helps you underwrite many of the costs.
For health insurance carriers, being bundled as an employment benefit means that there's less risk in offering a policy. With lower risk in creating the policy, the standard "comprehensive" policy can be cheaper and cover a wider assortment of coverages. Since it's a pre-tax expense for corporations under US tax code, this means that there's a strong incentive for companies to cover part (and in a few cases, all) health care expenses for their employers.
However, self employed health insurance trying to reach the same levels of coverage offered by a standard employer gets tricky. The policies, being for an individual rather than a group, result in higher expenses for the same level of services.
This means that the first thing a self employed person should do when they're looking for self employed health insurance is start looking at what coverage they're actually going to need. Full comprehensive health insurance gets very pricey; being able to shop for services on a menu plan can reduce costs considerably - for example, raising deductibles, or accepting that you don't need certain types of industrial compensation are useful ways to trim back costs and keep the health insurance affordable..
Many people needing self employed health insurance can get it through their spouse's employer's group policy. The vast majority of romance writers, for instance, tend to have health insurance through their spouse's medical plans. Others belong to organizations that can offer a group rate health insurance program, which, while still expensive compared to a standard employer benefit plan, is still worlds cheaper than a single policy health plan package.
If you're about to become self employed (voluntarily), the best route to cover the transition to self employed health insurance is to use the COBRA coverage at your current employer, which lets you pay to retain the coverage you're currently getting while getting your career off the ground. Switch to the least expensive health care plan your provider has, budget two payments up front as part of your leaving work funds management, and then move on. Be cautious not to let your coverage lapse even for a millisecond, since that then can open you up to the new provider not covering an existing condition.
While shopping for self employed health insurance coverage, take the time to comparison shop. There are a lot of rate comparison sites out there, and it's worth your time to compare as you go. If you have several colleagues in the same field, they may be able to refer you to agents and underwriters who specialize in self employed health insurance, or you may be able to get a joint (as opposed to group) policy that helps you underwrite many of the costs.
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