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While I have been flying solo in my business full time for a number of months now, the time has come for me to find health benefits. I knew it was going to be a complicated process, but the last few weeks have left my head spinning in a way I haven't experienced since my first big party weekend as a freshman in college.
In the past for me the choices were simple: what does the company's flex benefits offer and which one is the furthest from an HMO because I refuse to be told who I can and cannot see for my personal care? Now, I have the same myriad of choices but with more complex details and of course a far heftier price tag since I am insuring myself and not part of the corporate herd. What makes the choice even more anxiety producing are the horror stories you hear about from Michael Moore's movie Sicko (while he does tend to the dramatic there is a lot of scary truth in there) and from some of our very own here at BlogHer. How's a savvy self employed woman to choose?
First I will set my philosophy out on the table. I believe in today's world in the US you cannot afford to be without health insurance. While I am a big alternative care person, I still follow traditional medical practices as well and am damn sure that I am not going to roll the dice hoping I never encounter an illness or accident. I think the mindset that "I don't need insurance because I am healthy" is a recipe for disaster. I like to think I am still young (upper 30's) and healthy, but that doesn't guarantee that I won't get in a car accident, get diagnosed with a disease, or incur an injury when I am out hiking, biking or kayaking. And, any one of these scenarios spell mega bucks and could in one fell swoop bring my personal financial life down like a house of cards. I'm not alone in this thinking as Tina at Money $mart Life shares:
Unless you work for a company that has a group insurance plan, health care insurance can be astronomical. In fact, more and more people do not have insurance at all because smaller businesses cannot afford the benefit, and getting insurance on your own becomes a choice between keeping a roof overhead or having a health coverage.
For the self-employed, the problem can be even more pronounced, since you are already struggling to make enough to pay the bills, without the guarantee of a regular paycheck. So, how to get insurance for the self-employed is a stressful issue.
In a nation like the US people really shouldn't have to choose between food and a roof or health insurance, but then that's a different post for another time. While I am a very practical and detailed person, I firmly believe in my heart that I shouldn't have to choose a career I hate in a corporate cube simply for the benefits. That is like staying in a toxic marriage just because you like the house. Not a life strategy.
That means it is down to looking at options. Based on my research there are several broad options:
- Traditional PPO type coverage
- HMO coverage
- High Deductible Plans combined with HSA's
Things for the self-employed are not as bleak as you might think. Anne at Web Worker Daily says in "Health Insurance Outlook for Soloists":
But the health insurance outlook for the self-employed is not as bad as you might think. If you are reasonably healthy, you might be surprised how cheaply you can arrange coverage, especially if you choose a high-deductible health plan. And now that health insurers are looking for growth beyond their bread-and-butter large group policies, you could see even better rates as those insurers compete for your health coverage dollars.
She goes on to offer great tips for those seeking health insurance in her article as well as links to a realm of individual first hand experiences with health coverage.
Besides the dizzying array of choices (I could probably be declared legally insane from trying to read and compare all the charts and coverage) I feel stressed by the fact that I feel like "what aren't they telling me?" It only takes one perusal through real-life stories like those of this BlogHer Contributing Editor who wishes to remain anonymous to give you heartburn:
I've
