Self Employed Health Insurance
Sunday, July 11th, 2010Self employed health insurance can be tricky, and you have to be a very smart player in order to get coverage at affordable rates. When you leave your corporate job, you should continue with the same kind of health insurance for a while; you have this right according to COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). You may pay the same premium rates as the rest in your group for up to 18 after quitting.
If you want to benefit from this kind of self-employed health insurance according to COBRA, you should inquire for details, rights and benefits with the US Department of Labor. The self-employed has to pay for the policy in full, which means that there will be a huge difference from the price tag paid with the employer. On the average, an employee only pays 28% of the monthly premium, as the rest is covered by the company. There is one thing you can do to limit the level of the premiums.
During the open enrollment period that precedes your departure from the company, you can file an application to continue paying for a health insurance plan that is less expensive. Get whatever you find cheaper in order to have a lower self-employed health insurance premium according to the COBRA coverage. When the COBRA benefits are over, you have to find another type of health insurance, and you are still insured for 63 days during this period.
The problem of the self employed health insurance could be solved if you have a working spouse and you can join his/her plan. This appears more rewarding financially speaking, and the rates can be lower than COBRA payments. Check your options well before reaching a decision. This means that you have to compare as many health insurance plans as possible in order to get good coverage for decent money.
For self-employed health insurance, you can also get a plan with a higher deductible so that some of your tax dollars may go to your tax-free health savings account. If you don’t get reimbursement by the health insurance plan or you have extra medical expenses, you can use the money in this savings account to pay for the treatments. If you start hiring employees and the business grows more money can be saved. Small businesses can get you a better form of affordable self employed health insurance than an individual plan.