Comments on: Your Opinion Wanted: What About Health Insurance?

By: kerry

kerry — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 03:43:32 +0000

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!

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 05:43:32 +0000

THANK YOU. I have been struggling with this all week!

By: Aimee

Aimee — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 22:31:40 +0000

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

By: Angela

Angela — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 20:04:30 +0000

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

By: Christy

Christy — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 19:18:26 +0000

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.

By: Denise McLachlan

Denise McLachlan — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:12:14 +0000

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.

By: amy nicole

amy nicole — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:17:35 +0000

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.

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:48:03 +0000

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.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:49:00 +0000

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.

By: Dan Kemp

Dan Kemp — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:36:16 +0000

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.