Self Employed Health Insurance

It seems in the last decade the self-employed have felt especially pinched by the rising costs of health care. Shopping for new health insurance, while running a business, takes a lot of time. As a self-employed person, freelancer, contractor, or sole proprietor, your choices for insurance follow guidelines similar to families and individuals seeking health insurance. You have two categories of insurance to consider: group and individual. Due to lower costs, most people buy group insurance.

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What types of self employed health insurance are available to me?

Group insurance works through several types of organized medical networks (HMOs, PPOs, POSs, and Health Savings Accounts). In order to make informed decisions, it is best to learn about each.

As relating to the self-employed, HMOs offer slightly lower premiums but you need to live in close proximity to one. PPOs and POSs are less rigid, in terms of choices for medical needs, and are available in wider geographic areas. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) will give you higher deductibles, lower premiums and a tax-free way to possibly save for retirement. All above types of group coverage have other characteristics that will pertain to your decisions and more detailed descriptions about each appear elsewhere in this website and in the Glossary.

How can I lower the cost of my premium?

You will soon learn that changing the deductible in a health policy affects the premium greatly. Make studies of your speculated medical needs and consider stripping unnecessary optional coverage accordingly, as this can save. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from friends, business associates and your state’s insurance commissioner.

Individual health insurance is the most costly but may be necessary when you or a dependent has a major health problem. Each policy is written based on the medical histories of the insureds. Because individual insurance is so expensive, some self-employed people have opted to hire an employee to qualify them as a small business. Here, take care the savings offset the total expense.

Self-employed people, freelancers, and contractors can take another path to insurance by joining a business association that can provide group health insurance. Check with your Chamber of Commerce, as it may lead you to these associations and will tell you if the laws in your state allow this.

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What should I consider when shopping for plans?

The self-employed have these points to consider when looking for health insurance:

• Health insurance for the self-employed follows the same basic guidelines as insurance for families and individuals.
• Most self-employed business owners buy group health coverage. Learn about the various types (HMOs, PPOs, POSs and HSAs) before making a decision.
• Changing the deductible on the policy can easily raise or lower the premium.
• After narrowing your choices of group insurance policies down to the final two, compare the following of both: premiums, co-payments, deductibles, speculated expenses that are out-of-pocket, percentage amounts of fees paid, maximum limits on each claim and over lifetime claims. Making a comparison chart will help.
• Sometimes you can join an association which makes group insurance available to its members.
  

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