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Article added or updated: 09/05/2011

Many people would like the opportunity to work for themselves — to not be responsible to an employer, to not punch a clock, to be their own bosses. But many of them are held back from realizing this dream for one common reason: they don’t want to loose the health insurance offered by their employers. This is especially true if they have families who depend on the health insurance, too. Choosing self employed health insurance can be a daunting task. Indeed, it is one that some people don’t even bother to investigate because they simply assume that health insurance of this type is unaffordable. But if they were to learn more about it, they might be surprised to discover that self employed health insurance may be an affordable option for them. Choosing self employed health insurance is even easier with the advent of the internet. Most of the large health insurance companies have very good websites that provide all sorts of quoting tools and information to assist you in choosing the right insurance if you are self employed. Netquote is a good example of such a service.

One word of caution here  -- and it is a big one.  Most employer based health insurance plans are guaranteed issue. If you enroll during the designated window of opportunity, you are accepted with any pre-existing conditions being covered.  This is NOT the case with self employed health insurance.  If you have pre-existing conditions - diabetes, a history of heart trouble or high blood pressure, if you are overweight, if you have HIV or Hepatitis, you may find no insurance company will accept you.  If they do, it may be with conditions applied. Your condition might be ridered or waivered. It is prudent when shopping for self employed health insurance to ALWAYS check availability BEFORE you drop your current coverage.

If you are unable to find an affordable plan, find out if any professional associations you may be affiliated with offer their own group coverage. Some self employed professionals have banded together to get group coverage of their own. While it may not be as comprehensive as an employer offered group plan, it may be a plan that you find acceptable. Please do your homework on these association plans.  Over the years, some of them have developed less than stellar reputations.

If you have self employed health insurance, your insurance premiums are likely to be tax deductible. The premiums an employee pays for its group insurance is paid out of pre-tax dollars. Because self employed individuals do not have that option, they are allowed to deduct their health insurance premiums. The cost benefit of claiming your premiums on your taxes may offset the added expense of paying for the whole thing yourself.

Take advantage of the new health savings accounts. The self employed can make 100 percent tax-free deposits into these accounts, and then use the funds to pay regular medical bills with tax-free dollars. This makes it plausible to opt for a lower cost, higher deductible health insurance policy that covers medical emergencies. In addition, the unused money in the account accrues interest that can be used to supplement your retirement. Health savings accounts for the self employed have several advantages.  The higher deductibles often result in lower health insurance premiums which is welcome relief for anyone who is self employed.

 

 

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