Self-employment health insurance continues to be a big concern for work at home and independent professionals of all types. Many professionals only have one question when it comes to health care reform (also known as Obamacare): how will it help them? Affordable health care is a huge problem for many independent professionals…and right now, it doesn’t look like a whole lot of solutions are forthcoming. What’s the cost of self-employment health insurance…and, is it worth it?
Self-Employed Health Care
Affordable self-employment health insurance is difficult, if not impossible, to find. Individual health policies are expensive, and often do not provide the same level of care offered by larger (and more affordable) group policies. Finding cost-effective health care is a huge problem for many independent professionals. Look for ways to lessen the burden without compromising much-needed health care:
- Health care reform. The promise of health care reform (dubbed Obamacare by the media) offered a lot of hope for health insurance but under new revisions, independent professionals will not receive government-sponsored, affordable care. Private health insurance is still the only option for many of the self-employed, though in future years an online database will make shopping for health care somewhat easier.
- Self-employment health insurance tax deduction. Professionals are wise to claim business expenses on their income taxes, which lessens the payment burden at the end of the year. Because independent professionals have no traditional employer to provide them with benefits, it’s perfectly legal (and smart!) to claim the cost of self-employed health insurance as a deduction.
- Group health insurance rates. Some organizations provide group self-employment health insurance in order to make coverage more affordable. Demand Media hires hundreds of freelance writers and editors, providing a group insurance plan for those who do work through the company. The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), a self-employed union, also provides group coverage to members.
Self-Employment Health Insurance Costs
The costs of individual policies are not necessarily higher than group policies -- but when there is no employer to help pay for the costs, professionals feel the burden of supplying their own care. Individuals who purchase their own policies may expect to pay more than $3000 USD annually to maintain coverage (Consumer Health Ratings, 2005); this does not include co-pay or prescription costs.
Self-employment health insurance is expensive to maintain, but necessary. Without health care coverage of any kind, professionals leave themselves open to lifelong financial burdens if they suffer from injury or illness.
KC Morgan - KC Morgan has been the featured writer in Self-Employment since 2006, using personal experience to create guides to being self-employed.
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