Affordable Health Insurance for Self-Employed and Business Owners
The Self-Employed Guide to Finding Private Health Insurance (Without Getting Ripped Off)
If you’re a small business owner, contractor, or 1099 freelancer, you already know the freedom of being your own boss is unmatched. But you also know the absolute dread that comes along with it every month: paying for your own health insurance.
When you leave corporate America, you lose the luxury of an HR department handing you a neat little benefits package. Whether you are running a business in Texas, freelancing out in Arizona, or managing a team in Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Louisiana, Ohio, or Oklahoma, you are suddenly thrown into the wild west of the healthcare market.
Most self-employed folks think they only have two choices: pay an astronomical monthly premium on the regular government marketplace for a plan with a $9,000 deductible, or cross their fingers, pray they don't get sick, and go completely uninsured.
Neither of those options is a real strategy. Here is the truth about how the system works, and how you can look beyond the standard exchange to find coverage that actually makes sense for a business owner.
The Problem with the Standard Marketplace
The regular healthcare exchange serves a vital purpose, but it isn’t always the best fit for healthy, self-employed individuals. Because those public plans cannot ask medical underwriting questions, they group everyone into one massive, high-risk pool.
To offset that risk, insurance companies do two things: they jack up your monthly premiums, and they give you a deductible so high that you’d practically have to survive a catastrophic event just to get the plan to kick in for standard care. If you don't qualify for a massive government subsidy, you are essentially paying mortgage-sized premiums for a plan you can barely afford to use.
Enter Private Underwritten Plans
What many small business owners don't realize is that there is a parallel market out there: Private Underwritten Health Plans.
Unlike public plans, private health insurance companies evaluate your individual health up front. If you and your family are relatively healthy and don't have major, ongoing pre-existing chronic conditions, these private networks reward you for it.
By keeping the high-risk pool out, private plans can offer significantly lower monthly premiums, incredibly low deductibles, and co-pays that don't break the bank.
Look for the True PPO Network
Another massive headache for self-employed folks on standard plans is the dreaded "HMO" or restricted regional network. You pay all that money every month, but if you want to see a specific specialist or need care outside your local county line, you're out of luck.
When you look into private health options, you want to target a Nationwide PPO Network. A solid PPO gives you the freedom to see any doctor or visit any hospital across the country without needing a permission slip or a referral from a primary care doctor first. Whether you are working from home or traveling out of state for business, your coverage follows you seamlessly across state lines.
How to Evaluate Your Options
Before you just click "buy" on the first shiny internet ad you see, you need to do a little math. Ask yourself these three questions:
What is my true out-of-pocket maximum? (Don't just look at the premium. If something major happens, what is the absolute worst-case scenario check you'd have to write?)
Are my doctors in the network?
Does this plan offer dental and vision add-ons? (As a business owner, you need to protect your teeth and eyes too, so make sure your agent bundles these in cleanly).
The Bottom Line
You don't have to stay stuck in a marketplace trap paying for everyone else’s risk pool. If you are self-employed and healthy, you have earned the right to access private underwritten rates that protect your hard-earned business revenue.
Stop guessing with your family's healthcare. No matter which of our active states you operate in, let’s run the numbers and see how much cash we can put back into your business's bottom line.
