This is the one question I just don’t have an answer for. And I certainly don’t have a clear answer or solution that will fix it or answer this question for all of those working from a home office.
I can find coverage if I am willing to pay more for it than I make in a given month. But that is not the answer either. And we could go with higher deductibles and/or co-pays. Or we could give up coverage of certain health risk too.
So, since I don’t know the answer to this question. I am turning to all of you. What do you all use for your health insurance coverage. There has to be something out there for the home office warrior. Is there a group we could take advantage of? Or is there coverage for the home based self employed I am missing?
Please leave your comments here and maybe, just maybe between all of us, we might come up with something.
Categories: Health Insurance, Home Office, Home Office Warrior, Home Office Worker
3 Comments
Years ago when I was in law school I needed coverage. I discovered that CT had a public policy act which mandated the state offer health insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions at a fixed cost. If you fell below a certain income you were not subject to balance billing and all doctors had to take the insurance or risk their license. CT is the insurance capital of the ‘world’ and they were mandated to establish this fund for those who had no coverage. It is still available but in the form of a traditional HMO. I have to believe this type of coverage is available in every state. I also recommend you look for blue-ribbon policies, group insurance through your professional organizations and SBA which is looking to provide the benefits as if you belonged to an organization or company. In addition, consider high deductibles and just have catastrophe insurance for major medical issues, paying for your regular doctor’s appointments as needed and putting money aside each week into an account for that purpose. Just a few suggestions.
In almost 20 years of soloing, I’ve wrestled numerous times with the roller-coaster-like issue of health insurance. I even wrote about it at:
http://www.chiefhomeofficer.com/sicko-ii-feeling-ill-on-small-biz-health-insurance/
My wife, a nurse, had great bennies from her hospital-employer. So we went with that for a while. But then, she felt ’shackled’ to the job. So I went with a small-business policy from United Healthcare, only to see premiums rise 300% over the course of two years. So we went back to her bennies. When she switched jobs to a mid-sized pediatric practice in 2006, dependent coverage was too expensive. So again, I shopped coverage for me and our three kids. We ended up going to the Florida Farm Bureau (no, you don’t have to be a farmer) with a PPO/HSA (health savings account) policy through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The four of us (me and the kids) pay about $350 a month. It’s a lot. And the deductible is about $1500 per person or $2500 per family per year. But we’ve got coverage - with $1 million top end limits for catastrophic peace of mind.
Susan’s right. Shop around. Policies exist, and I think people have been so pounded into believing health insurance is impossible to get that they ‘assume’ it’s unavailable. Try the local chamber of commerce, your professional association/trade group, your attorney/accountant or other professional advisor. Ask your peers. Call your state. And just quote the usual suspects - United, BCBS, Aetna, etc. Coverage it out there. It might be expensive, but for many, going ‘bare’ just isn’t an option…
In general, individual medical plans (IMM) are less costly than employer group plans (more rules/regs on group plans & more “flexibility” for the insurance company on IMMs). Most folks tend to want more/better health ins coverage than they really need & certainly more than they want to pay for. The point of any insurance (life, health, auto, fire, etc.) is to help you pay for a major expense that you can’t pay for yourself (your car insurance doesn’t pay for new tires or oil changes - that’s routine maintenance; why, then, should your health insurance pay for routine exams, etc.?). Most folks want Cadillac-type benefits but think they should only have to pay Yugo-type prices (where’s the logic in that?). Really, they think someone else (gov’t? where do you think they get the money for it; oh, yeh, by soaking the “evil rich”) should pay for it all. If you’re healthy, buy a plan w/ a large deductible (HSA-eligible, preferably) and save your nickels in a tax-favored savings account. There are a LOT of factors to consider, though, so find a good broker who specializes in health insurance (search the NAHU site - www.nahu.org - for someone in your area). DISCLAIMER: I’ve specialized in small employer & IMM for 35 years now, so I may have a particular ax to grind.