This week’s posts have focused on your health as a business owner. After reading Holly’s post yesterday Angela of Angel Leigh Designs shared the comment below that I wanted to share with you.
What about health insurance? I carry the benefits in my family and I’m DYING to quit my day job, but for the one missing link of health insurance. I don’t even know where to start researching the question! Is there an arts/crafts union I should join? Is it state by state? Do I absolutely have to settle for disaster insurance? Is there an answer in Obamacare? But can they just yank that out from under me, if there is an answer there? Anxiously awaiting any responses or suggestions.
I am on my husband’s insurance plan and have not had to worry about this. I am hoping some of you can shed some light on this subject for Angela and I am sure many others who are wondering the same thing! Thank you!
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I would start by checking out what might be available from the state where you reside. Here in Vermont, the state has wonderful programs available. We pride ourselves on becoming the first state in the union to provide a single payer insurance system. There are also programs available for kids, and again, Vermont leads the way for the nation with the highest percentage of children being covered by insurance. My son lives in Arizona, and there are programs available for my grand daughter – my son works free lance, and is wife only works part time – they feel they are young and healthy, so they aren’t concerned with insurance for themselves (I know that will change), but do need it for their daughter. Programs vary state to state, but I would definitely start there. Many organizations also offer member benefits, such as health care programs with decent premiums. With so many companies asking their employees to pick up more of the cost of insurance, I think this will become less of issue going forward. Hopefully Obamacare will address some of these issues – it seems a step in the right direction, but does need tweaking and revising. Good luck, I hope you find your answers.
It does vary by state but there are groups you can join like the Freelancers Union or Guilds for your art area that offer group insurance at a reduced rate. It’s worth the research.
Something else to explore is finding an insurance broker who can help you search for the kind of coverage you seek. Start with your car/home insurer to see if they offer health coverage or can suggest where to look.
Good Luck, you’re not alone in this!
In Canada there’s the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) that offers heath insurance for self-employed individuals. Here’s a link to an online PDF file you can read to get more info.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4110/rc4110-11e.pdf
If you’re really serious, and have a serious business, you can register yourself with a private company (SunLife etc..) and do business insurance with employees. You’ll notice that it’s more expensive than when you worked for someone else.
Google “Fractured Atlas”. They are an artist group based in nyc that has wonderful, easy to use resources for finding health insurance. You do not have to live in nyc to find what you need. Also liability insurance and other biz related needs for artists are listed. Highly recommended!
An HSA is most likely the best option if you and your family are healthy. Joining groups if you have a lot of doctor bills makes sense because it averages out the cost. If you’re healthy on the other hand you’re paying extra for the higher needs of the group. Another benefit of the HSA is that the money you spend on healthcare is tax free and that you can invest it an Mutual funds and have your investment grow, unlike other health insurance where your money just disappears.
HSA’s can be scary by themselves and are part of a balanced system. Having an emergency fund of 3-6 months income is also a part of the balance as well as doing things that are healthy for you and your family today, to cut down on costs in the future Most people with HSA’s save money over traditional health insurance in the long run.
To learn more details about it, I’d suggest picking up a copy of “What Your CPA isn’t Telling You” By Mark Kohler.
Both my husband and I are self employed and we have single payer (family) health insurance. Is it the best and blingiest? No! Is it emergency I just got hit by a bus and that’s the only thing my insurance will cover? No to that too. Is it expensive? Yes, in the scheme of budget things it is. I would check your local area or check with your state to find out about different health insurance options, and start doing some research and putting together the info and then a plan. Maybe you know people in your area who are self employed, ask them what they are doing. I always feel like searching out the info you need and giving yourself some options to look at always takes the worry or fear out of anything that is an unknown.
Thank you so much for this question. I actually was just forced out of my day job with benefits and now am on my own working my craft business fulltime. We are lucky in PA to have free health benefits for children so my kids are covered. My husband and myself not so lucky. The disaster insurance we have available to us is so expensive and honestly not worth the $700 a month for the just in case. Your question about Obamacare… thank you as well. I don’t want to keep my hopes up that insurance carriers will have to offer better plans to self employed individuals and then it will get pull right out from under me. I have spent way too much time online looking at all of the different plans out there for me. Lucky enough we are healthy but if I am sick… too bad it’s all out of pocket.
This question was quite helpful. I live in nyc and just finished school and am insurance-less as of two days ago. Options I looked into were way beyond my budget, but now that I know about fractured atlas I will definitely look into it.
I used to be an insurance agent and can tell you that stand alone family insurance can be expensive and in my opinion the HSA plan mentioned in another comment is the best most economical way to go and can save you money in taxes. Consulting an insurance broker is a good way to go because they can get quotes for you from companies that do business in the state where you live. I’ve had a lot of good success with a company called Golden Rule and you can go on their website to get rates or a suggestion of a broker in your area.
Association plans as mentioned in other posts are good too, just be sure to get references of other members because rates tend to go up quickly if someone in the group gets sick. Also some states don’t allow association plan group insurance.
If you live in Illinois or Florida I can give you the name of brokers that I know. Send me an email at demclach@yahoo.com and I can give you their contact information.
Thanks @Amber for the “Fractured Atlas” info! It has a lot of great information for someone who needs insurance, whether liability or health. Right now my husband covers us, but at least I know where to look if I ever need it.
Wow, thanks so much for all the suggestions! I’m in PA, hoping to go ‘home’ to Maine. It all sounds so hopeful! I’m an older mom, and kinda high-strung. I don’t think I can rest easy without insurance, so these amazing resources should help me get my ducks in a row.
What does HSA stand for, by the way?
Thanks so much, everyone!
xx
Angela
Blue Cross Blue Shield offers affordable plans in most states. I paid about $50 a month with them when I quit my job. You can search plans by price and coverage on ehealthinsurance.com
THANK YOU. I have been struggling with this all week!
Thank you all so much for this information! I am so happy to read about all of these different options!
@Angela – I think HSA is a Health Savings Account – I just found out a lot about it after a Google search. If anyone who is familiar with HSA can either correct me if I am wrong and/or share a resource to learn more it would be greatly appreciated!