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Ask Slashdot: Health Insurance for the Self-Employed
A nameless submittor wanted to voice this very valid concern: "I'm a self-employed contract programmer whose COBRA benefits are going to run out early next year. I was wondering what experiences others of similar employ have had obtaining health and disability insurance? What is available? What about rates? Is the coverage any good? What do I need to look out for?"
So save yourself the trouble and just say that you've never had anything wrong with you. As I said, my doctor recommended it, and it worked.
Hi, I would stick with COBRA. Other solutions like RMI have too much overhead. Or they are non-portable to other platforms (e.g., DCOM/DCOM+)
Make sure your new provider supports Inter-orb communication -- a key factor in policy selection.
Lastly, make sure the contract is written in language you are comfortable with. Go with C++ or Java, and a well-documented UML, since others may have to work on the project with you.
Many states have indpendent blue cross plans. Also some professional societies such as IEEE. If you are under 40, the monthly premiums are comparable to employer group rates, i.e. in the $100-$150 range per month. These grow to $500 / month in early 60s.
in French
There are signs up all over the place about "cheap" insurance for the self-employed. Good luck ever successly making a claim on these scams. See the Matt Damon movie "Rainmaker" (?) to see how these scams work.
I've been contracting for 3 years (I am in Mass, too), and I have been on my wife's plan. She is leaving work soon so I have to start paying for our own insurance. CORBA payments to her insurance are about $650/month. (family plan) I found a PPO that is about $420/month, I might go with that one. We have a child on the way so I want to make sure I get a good plan. (SUre is expensive, though)
Try out ehealthinsurance.com or insweb.com both of these sites have info on individual insurance. The former is a broker-organized site, the latter cuts out the broker (but is newer and may not have as much info). Most individual insurance is still sold through brokers - you can either call one directly or look in the yellow pages under health insurance. Most of the brokers sell the same few products (the individual insurance market is still very small). The monthly price is going to depend a lot on the deductible you're willing to accept. If you're generally healthy, it probably makes sense to take a fairly high deductible and pay for routine things as you need them.
You forgot to mention America's fearsome crime rate, the slutty president, and the growing political support for Texas to become a country.
About a third (wild-guess) of the professors I work with have IEEE health insurance, and this is at a public university. The IEEE health insurance must be pretty good for it to be that much better than the state one. Of course, with me being a 9 year member of the IEEE, but not a professor, I can't even get basic information on their plan from them.
(get another job to get health insurance)
Amen brother. I work atleast 20 hours a week at Waffle House. At one job, I make $27 per hour, and I also work as a cook at Waffle House. I only make about $10 per hour there (varies greatly, because the cooks split the tips on take-out orders). Their health insurance is a great deal. My job with a large engineering firm (unnamed so I don't get screwed, like I did when I mentioned them on cisco-nsp) doesn't provide health insurance, even for 5+ year employees with a masters in EE. There are more than a dozen Waffle Houses within a 15 minute drive from the small town I live in. Because they are open 24/7 and have a lot of locations, you can usually work whatever hours you need. I love going to work for 4 hours on my way home from clubbing at 4 am Saturday morning. I don't have to clean-up, dress-up or work-hard at those hours. Look into it.
I had NASE, err the company they get a discount from, for almost 3 years, because my employer (the bastards) doesn't offer health insurance to engineers, like they do to janitors and clerks. The only qualification they require is that you own some sort of business, even on the side. The business doesn't even have to be incorporated. I just showed the guy a $200 check I got for installing bnews. Also, I got the insurance started in less than 20 days after my first conversation with them. Quick! I remember it was cheap, but in the 3 years, I never got a damn penny out of them for anything. I even paid for the expensive dental plan. The optical plan didn't cover a single penny of any of the > $1,000 worth of crap I had to have done to my eyes. I didn't read the fine print before I signed-up. For example, it required a 6 month waiting period before getting a cavity filled. Who's going to wait 6 months for that?
Advantages: cheap, easy, and quick!
Disadvanages: coverage sucks, need to read the fine print, and you probably won't collect on any claims.
Huh? In the Uk we have free at the point of delivery healthcare and our highest marginal tax rate is 40%, which kicks in at about $US 50,000. For most people it's around 30% (that includes national insurance which is just income tax with another name).
I was planning on going with United Health Care PPO. They seemed to have semi-reasonable rates compared to some of the HMOs. Something like $450.month. I already have disability insurance with Liberty Mutual at about $120 a month. I did incorporate as an S-corp. Does that buy me anything in regards to health insurance? -Carl
COBRA is the Co-Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (? on the year). In part, it provides the right to continue your current health care coverage from your current provider without evidence of insurability. In addition, the carrier is required to offer you an individual policy (at individual rates) after the 18 month period expires if they have an individual product in their portfolio. This guarantees continuity of coverage but the rates may be high. Hope this helps. If you have any questions, email me at ericbudd@fast.net
No. COBRA (I forget what it stands for) is a US Federal regulation that requires employers who offer insurance to allow it to be extended by the employee at close to the same rate for 90-120 days after the employee leaves the company, allowing them to get with another program, presumably at a new employer, which normally takes 90-120 days. It is good, in that you aren't uninsured, but it can also be 3-4x as expensive for that period of time.
Actually, I don't see the third as an issue. We can leave, join OPEC (where Texas has had an advisory -- i.e., non-voting -- seat from the start of the cartel), work out a floor price for oil ($60/bbl would do fine), see about annexing Oklahoma and Louisiana for the oil and New Mexico for the skiinng, and party like it's 1985! What are the feds going to do? Invade? I have an aunt who has a wonderful old Cadillac Eldo convertible, white, in wondeful condition. She just had the engine rebuilt (for unleaded gas) but will probably give it to me. It is larger than anything that I have ever had and gets 12mpg (highway and city) but I love it for the bumper stickers as well. Right there with the "Kennedy/Johnson_'64" (faded) is "Drive 80 and freeze a Yankee in the dark." Yes, I suppose that I should be concerned about the feelings of others, but then I would make a poor BOfH, wouldn't I?
If you do decide to go with them, read the fine print on the dental plan. There is a 6 month mandatory wait on fillings. If you get a cavity, you have to wait 6 months from the time they approve the expense. Also, there wasn't an "approved" dentist within 250 miles of Atlanta.
The "get your premium back" scam is a new one to me. They never tried to sell me on that one.
Uh huh. Just be sure to compare those marginal tax rates before you come up here looking for the Holy Grail of "free" healthcare. Also, don't forget to check your guns, along with most of your other civil liberties, at the border. Another disgruntled almost-ex-Canadian
I was always under the assumption that health insurance for individuals was extremely expensive. I was discussing my situation (as I am now self employed) with my financial advisor and he put together several quotes for me from different companies. My COBRA was running about $413 per month for my spouse and myself (80/20 coverage, no HMO, no PCP). Under my new policy, also not an HMO, I pay $69 per month for my spouse and myself. The policy is provided by UNICARE. I have a $40 copay per office visit and the other stuff is 70/30. Normal maternity benefits are not included, however, if there are complications they will be covered. In hind sight, I would have been better off using UNICARE instead of paying $80 a week through the consulting firm I worked for. I have been very pleased with this insurance so far. I would highly recommend speaking with your financial advisor (or an independent agent that can get quotes from any company...not just the one they represent). My agent was also able to get quotes for disability and life insurance. Hope this helps :)
FYI
I started working as a self employed contractor last year and joined a 'Business Trust' organization that provides insurance to self employed and small buisnesses. I was able to join a large HMO for around $150 a month, with all of the medical benefits you usually get from an employer.
COBRA is a california state system for extending health benefits from an employer for a period of time after you quit.
A Non Profit that offers health insurance. I got it for my wife and kid... it is GREAT! NASE
Apply for canadian citizenship, free medical coverage, which with the addition of private insuance is quite complete. Blue Cross is pricey but very good quality/response wise. Another trick is to take out travel insurance and move to a foreign country. I will have a similar problem soon, as a canadian citizen, living in germany, working as a consultant for US firms. Wahoo.
The Chamber will have a group health plan for you and your family, often under Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
I did this for my employer in MI. The rates were half what we paid State Farm, and got much better coverage for everybody.
And, to answer the usual /. nitwits, they have coverage for individuals at the same advantageous rates. Plus, being a Chamber member, you get credibility and great contacts.
And I like it a lot. Not that the policy is that great (it is standard fee-for-service so I can go to any doctor), but I like being in control of my health insurance. I started a small company 3 years ago, but I still have my own IEEE insurance, simply because I don't want to change. I got so sick of changing plans every time I changed jobs. So check it out. IEEE has a bunch of other benefits (LTD, Investments, that sort of stuff). My $0.02 (Why isn't the cent sign in ASCII!) -- cary
Wow. Why are your costs so cheap? I am on my wife's plan (Harvard Vangard). When she cut her hours down to 20, I had to pay for CORBA and it cost $680 a month! The cheapest plan with $10 co-payments and Rx that I can find is still $420 a month! Where are you guys getting all the cheap plans? -Carl
I checked into the NASE and found they didn't cover Vermont. If you're 18-35 check out transmed. Because they only cover that age range they can offer very good rates.
Canadian Medicare is for nimrods, Like I really want some state paid socialist idiot operating on me. Why do think all the WEALTHY Canadians come to the MIGHTY non-socialist US for surgery. DOWN WITH CANADA!!!!!!!
NASE is very good but if you are not one to care about the extra's (ie. rental car discounts, etc.) Mutual of Omaha is the better company. With NASE I was paying $140ish with $10 copay and a discount on meds. With Mutual of Omaha I am paying a $20 copay and $10 meds. So when I get a sinus infection all I pay is $20+$10 med=$30. With NASE it was $10 + med discount=about $60-$80. It is better to go with a higher copay and a defined medication cost.
There's a number of businesses that are springing up lately to deal with issues similiar to this. Take a look at http://www.freeagent.com, for example.
If you're even think going independant is a possibility, go see if you can qualify to join the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) as a "full member". They have a good "group policy" -- the main differences between it and the policy from the company I'm currently working for are that the deductibles are a tad higher (it's even through the same insurance company!) -- and the price is reasonable. Yeah, I know, IEEE is about $100 a year or so, but I think that in the long run it can be worth it. BTW, the URL is http://www.ieee.org/
Many professional societies offer access to health coverage. For example, electrical/computer engineers often belong to the IEEE, and they offer access to decent health coverage. There are others (perhaps the ACM?). Many people belong to USAA---the military dependents financial services organization---and they offer many individual plans, as well. You must be eligible but the services are great. As others have said, the details depend on your particular situation: state of residence (costs vary state-to-state), dependents, age, desired emergency coverage, desired major medical coverage, etc. Get a range of quotes & plans, and read the fine print!
I use a medical savings account through Golden Rule (www.goldenrule.com). Your monthly contribution is split into one part that pays for coverage and one part that goes into a special savings account. The coverage has a $2500 deductable. You're supposed to use the savings account for everything under that amount. This cuts out alot of the red tape because you get a checkbook with the savings account. You make decisions on whether you're "covered" or not for amounts under $2500. Of course, it's your money. In theory, these plans should increase the financial discipline and reduce the profligacy of the system. People who use these aren't spending "other people's money" when they let their doctors order up fancy batteries of tests.
From what I gather, a PPO is a "perferred provider somthing" The plan gives you a list of doctors that you can go to an pay $10 (or whatever) a visit. They consider these "in-network" doctors, and they are all covered the same way. You can still go to Out-of-network doctors, but you have to pay more. They still cover maybe 80% after a deductable.
a roommate and sobriety can do wonders for your checkbook balance. you might want to look into them.
I'm employed by a large company and have insurance through them. However I have joined IEEE in the off chance I need insurance in the future. There is a waiting period before new IEEE members are elgible for insurance. The nice thing about something like IEEE insurance, is you are part of a VERY large group plan and cannot be canceled becuase you individually get sick too much.
Nah! A few years ago, I insured myself for $70 a month. There was $1000 deductible, but it was true health insurance, meaning if all hell breaks loose, it's there to save my ass, which is kinda the point, right?
Afterall, when I had looked through the medical expenses in the previous years, they averaged around $200 a year. That included the yearly visit to the doctor when I got the flu, a broken foot, etc. I was a grad-student at the time, and I figure that even I could pick up that little bit. What I was afraid of was huge medical bills, and that's why I got catastrophic insurance.
I never did understand why businesses provide medical "insurance" (I include health plans in this). After all, my place of employment doesn't provide my car insurance or my home owners insurance. And hell, if people paid for their own insurance, we wouldn't have to worry about portability. Not to mention that if people actually had to shop around for their insurance (rather than having it handed to them), it would probably be cheaper! Nevermind that everyone that get's healthcare benefits through their place of employment (as opposed to independent contractors that pay their own way) is essentially getting several thousand dollars worth salary tax free .
I've also been looking into this a little and was wondering what kind of rates can be obtained through the ACM or NASE?
I'm basically looking for coverage for myself and my wife. Maternity coverage might soon be a consideration.
What is a PPO plan?
You may want to consider getting some insurance with a huge deducatable to protect your parents and their finances in case something really terrible happens to you. Many parents would sell their house to pay for health care for one of their children. Thats not a decision I'd like to force on my parents.
It is recommended that you go to the dentist every 6 months for a cleaning.
Hang on there, pardner. HMOs can be quite nice, and they can be a nightmare. It depends on the nature of the HMO and how you manage them. Tales of personal experience follow:
FIRST THERE WAS KAISER...
I was covered by Kaiser Permanente when living in CA, and they were an absolute dream. I walk in, They copy down my membership number, I wait a not-unreasonable period of time, they treat me, and I leave. When I got run over by my boss on my motorcycle (another story entirely), they took care of the whole mess. I had been carted off to a local chop-shop clinic by my employer, which sewed my missing digit back on, and Kaiser had to *undo* the surgery and sew it back on correctly.
I never saw any paperwork, I never had to pay anything other than my premium, and they even packed up a bag full of dressings & other medical accoutrements for me to take on my non-reschedulable road-trip 10 days later.
AND THEN THERE WAS GROUP HEALTH...
Having been blissed-out by my experience with Kaiser, I joined Group Health in Washington State. I quickly discovered that they are (imho) expensive, paperwork-intensive, mired in referral bullshit, and generally client-unfriendly. They insisted on assigning me to a GP, and then assigned me to a team of seven GP doctors so that I never saw the same GP twice. (Kind of defeats the purpose, no?)
It was impossible to see any specialist without seeing Dr. RandomGP(N), who would defer to Dr. RandomGP(N-1)'s experience, except that I couldn't never get in to see Dr. RandomGP(N-1) again because clients are only allowed to schedule appointments with Dr. RandomGP(ANY).
When I finally did get to see a specialist about the RSI injury to my wrist... well... I had a ~0.75" fluid bubble poking out of a rupture in the muscle wall. What does the GH doctor do? He had me look away and hit my wrist with a motherf*cking book to burst it! And because I didn't flinch when he thought I would, he hit me a lot harder than intended, and had to send me in for x-rays to make sure he didn't break my wrist. (On later visits he tried cortizone injections, then finally surgery as I had requested.)
And imho I got better treatment than the average Joe because my Group Health card was green rather than blue. What does green mean to them? Cash. I was a full-cash-paying customer. Blue-card clients (work-paid-insurance), from what I could see, got treated like shit and had to wait longer, too. Me, I got to go to the front of the line and get my poor service much faster.
IN THE END
The bottom line is that every individual's experience will be different. The kind of hands-off independence that Kaiser provided for me would be perceived as poor service by someone of my parents' generation, but I couldn't stand the way that GH did business. I'm sure that there are people out there who are happy with GH's service, I've just never me t any of them. But I wouldn't take that experience and condemn all HMOs. YMMV.
I think not...(*poof*)
Ditto s/Canada/UK/
Free healthcare, everything is within a day's drive (even most of Europe), ADSL and GPRS are being rolled out nationwide next year, no mad people with guns (not even the police), we have strong beer and even stronger cider, you can get laid at 16 and drunk at 18, we don't have daft crypto laws, and most people are atheists.
London sucks, petrol (gasoline) prices suck (70p/litre, US$5/gallon), but other than that it's a pretty cool place to be.
I know a couple of people who telecommute to jobs in the States. Once you have remote reboot installed on your machine, being on the same continent doesn't really matter anymore.
--
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
I got set up with NASE for $149/month for their PPO plan (similar to HMO but not quite as draconian). The limitation on this is that I have to be in-network (meaning here in the greater Houston TX area) if I get hurt - they'll pay for the trip back if I can be transported.
/. readers are of the bespectacled set... :)
For another $30/month, you get the indemnity plan which covers you regardless of where you are, etc.
Also, NASE plan has the best vision plan I've ever had. My vision plan history was:
Andersen Consulting: jack shit
Informix Software: crappy voucher based system - some decent savings
Houston Chronicle: jack shit
SELF-EMPLOYED BARNEY BADASS: free lenses and eye exam, 60% off of frames (even fancy schmancy ones), 40% off of extra crap (coatings, etc.)
Not to imply that
WG
getting a part time job on the side just for the benefits seems popular lately.
Move to Canada, never worry about health care again... Smokes are 4 bucks a pack, heart transplants are free..
:)
As an added bonus, moving to say Toronto or Ottawa, you get cheap DSL or cable modems, and pretty good cable TV (59 channels 30 bucks)..
There is also that whole clean, polite, non-gun carryingness thing... I live in city with over a million people, (Ottawa) there is about 3 murders a year and maybe 5 non-domestic violent crimes.. I like them odds..
Downsides would definitly be the weather (compaired to Silicon Vally) and the taxes..
Vancouver gets you out of the snow, but you get rain instead.. Taxes are what they are, take it or leave it I guess..
Don't want to start a Canada rules/sucks thread, but if I was a self employed geek in the US, I'd at least figure out what it would cost me tax wise if I relocated north..
One other perk, no drug tests..
Great green north and all that..
I don't know about that your parents specific case, but generally, waiting time is inverse of urgengy.. If you're dieing, it's straight into the ER, if you've got a cold, you get to wait until all the people in the ER are good and alive again..
Northern Quebec is probably about as bad as it gets.. It's basically the Canadian version of the deep south..
Get catastrophic (high-deductable) coverage. That's what I did ('til I went back to full-time work), $2,500 deductable but with a very nice hospitalization rider, cost me a bit over $50/mo (cheaper than Mediscare taxes). You can get a lower deductable for more money. Routine stuff (checkups, prescriptions and what not, up to the deductable) gets paid out-of-pocket. It would be even cheaper if MSA (Medical Savings Account) legislation gets passed (pairs catastrophic insurance with a savings account for those routine expenses and tax deducts the whole lot), but as this would give people a good deal and a lot of freedom the Clinton Administration is fighting it in favor of heavily regulated fascist HMOs (just a short hop from socialized medicine). Steve Forbes is the lead proponent of MSAs in the current crop of presidential candidates.
Ask your primary doctor which insurance company they prefer working with. (Assuming you trust your doctor.)
When I was living in California, I used Blue Cross, which was fairly reasonable (~$130/month, and I was about 33 at the time).
Here in New York, insurance is a *lot* more expensive. I'm currently getting coverage through the National Writers Union at $277/month.
Others have pointed out that IEEE has insurance - so does the ACM, and if you're a hacker with a degree or have been in the field for a while, it's easy to join and includes some other useful bennies as well.
check with your insurance agent about state laws regarding coverage of self-employed people. In Massachusetts, if you have been continually insured, you can purchase coverage at group rates without worrying about pre-existing conditions or cancellations because you're a small business.
We are currently using united healthcare PPO plan and spending something like $500-$600 per month for family coverage. This includes $15 co-pays on office visits and $10 co-pay on drugs.
we have had some small hassles with them but usually, if you're a persistent pain in the butt, they pay.
Disability insurance is a whole different story. Individual rates are extremely high and if you have anything even vaguely wrong, forget about coverage. I'm living with an RSI based disability and I can't get coverage even excluding my RSI.
So, I self-insure. Save as much money as possible and don't forget the corporate shield (you did incorporate as an S-corp?).
good luck, and start bribing your Congress critter to eliminate health insurance as a tax deduction for corporations!
I don't use IEEE for health (my wife's an IBMer),
:-)
but I do have term life, and just applied for
disability. The rates on all their insurances
are very low, and they offer almost all types
of insurance.
The journals (most available online now!) from
IEEE are also an awesome source of info, so you
do get something else out of the yearly membership
fee.
-- Craig Miller Austin, TX
I don't use IEEE for health (my wife's an IBMer),
:-)
but I do have term life, and just applied for
disability. The rates on all their insurances
are very low, and they offer almost all types
of insurance (incl home and auto, I believe).
The journals (most available online now!) from
IEEE are a good source of industry info and
research, so you do get something else out of
the yearly membership fee than cheap insurance.
-- Craig Miller Austin, TX
It's expensive but you're in control of your own destiny. Many of the agencies offer insurance packages that are cheaper but then you're locked into that agency. I've used several agencies but mostly one in particular but I refuse to take their insurance and have to requalify after each contract. You should be making enough contracting here to cover the lost "benefits" from being perm. Best of luck with the baby.
I've been contracting for 12 years since leaving my last employer and I found I was able to buy group insurance coverage by joining my local chamber of commerce as a small business owner. My CORBA payments were about $650/month and getting in on this group policy dropped them toabout $400/month. This is for married/family coverage. I believe the single coverage at the time was $189/month. The biggest thing is to calculate it into your rate when you quote. Listing it as $3/hour is a lot easier to take.
One more datapoint.
Move to a civilized country, that is one where your hard-earned tax dollars are returned back to you in term of free health-care instead of corporate welfare for the friends of those who are in power...
-- ----------------------------------------------
Vive le logiciel... Libre!!!
here in Ithaca NY, I use Support Services Alliance (SSA), which provides me with Major Medical ($2200 deductable) and provides various business services like legal searches for small businesses. Total cost, $89/mo. plus $15/year.
HOWTO get better dates on slashdot
Quite on the contrary, I'd suspect. My experience with membership organizations such as IEEE has been that they seldom make a decision without contemplating how it will affect recruiting.
Now, they probably want to you *staying* a member...
is an accident whilst you're uninsured.
... not bad, eh?
I gambled and lost, shedding COBRA and benefits in exchange for mucho dinero, and, as fate would have it, a sprung achilles tendon.
If you think that, say, a shit-hot Oracle kernel engineer makes big bucks, just wait until the bill from the anestheologist's office arrives. $3500 for forty minutes of work
I'd make the same sacrifice again, but I'm single and without dependents. How you approach the issue is almost wholly dependent on your specific situation.
Good luck,
JFB
To spur "enterprise Linux," Big Bang, the distributed two-phase commit.
If you are an IEEE member, you can sign up in their open-enrollment period this January. Rates are typical of a business that is 300,000 employees, only you pay 100%. But it is still MANY TIMES BETTER THAN YOU ALONE!
Even if you don't go for the medical, the Life Insurance is a no-brainer! Definately check out Life regardless!
-- Bryan "TheBS" Smith
Independent Author, Consultant and Trainer
I had their policy for a year. I was pretty happy at $70 per month. I didn't know that I could do a bit better, but I did know I could have done a lot worse.
But it got worse. I never found it necessary to make a claim in that year. However, inside 6 months, the rates were hiked to $100 per month. Hmmm, I thought. Time to shop around. By the time they hiked to $135 per month, I decided it was definitely time to bail. I was back in school by that point, and used BYU's health plan (fairly nice to single students).
MEGA (the insurer of the NASE plan) said the cost increase was due to rising medical costs. %100 in 1 year? I think not.
Tweet, tweet.
As a poor college student, $80 (although cheap for health insurance) is still a lot of money when you concider all I shell out a month in rent and beer.
Has anyone given any though to starting our own national health insurance benefits program for those of us who are in these sorts of situations? Self employed, partly employed but no benefits, would like to do nothing but code but have to do the 9 to 5 to get the benefits. We all fit some where in to this sort of a situation.
I would like to think that the community that was able to take a small time operating system written by a college student would be able to pool it's resources and come up with somehting ingenious.
----
"War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left"
"War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left"
Steven Wright
Blue Cross is pretty good on the PPO plans. Don't buy into an HMO from anybody, for any reason!
If you look for coverage against major costs, and pay doctor's visits out of pocket, it's a good deal cheaper.
--- Bill
Caveat
This is for US types only, can't comment on Canada, UK, or elsewhere. . .
- If you're young,single and basically healthy, instead of a "comprehensive" health plan, get a "catastrophic" policy, that pays all expenses over a given amount, say $1000.00 or $5,000.00. And THEN get a disability income policy. Reason ??? Your most likely problem is going to be an accident of some sort. You can live with colds and flu, there's very little the docs can do about it. You'll have to absorb minor medical costs, but for the most part, a decent medical cabinet, stocked up at the local Wal-Mart or K-Mart, will cover 99% of your problems. Your real worry is a major accident or injury that lays you up for a while: that's why you want a catastrophic policy and disability income (it's tax-free, so set your disability income level at about 60-70% of your current salary or expected income. .
.) - If you're older, have medical problems, or are married and/or have children, you're best bet is to find a group to get into for coverage. IEEE and NASE have been mentioned. You also might want to look at paying to get into your spouse's coverage (and in some areas, domestic partner's coverage)
That, in a nutshell, is my best advice. Mind you, the vast number of insurance agents are lowlifes, ranking with lawyers, bureaucrats, reporters, and politicians at the shallow end of the gene pool. They will attempt to also sell you life, home, auto, and whatever. Only buy what you came in for: turn down any subsequent "service" calls. Tell them : don't call me, I'll call you. And remind them that if they bother you, you can go down the street to company X. And do so, if they keep bothering you after that. . .Be careful of which area of Canada you decide to move to. My parents just moved out of Northern Quebec, and the health care system there is abysmal - they both got pneumonia within days of one another, and the only way they could see a doctor was to wake up very early one morning, head over to the local health clinic and wait in line.
This may be different in larger cities (or in different provinces), but even so - like the tech industry, the medical industry is seeing a lot of Canada->US brain drain, so the situation is bound to worsen with time.
In it's basic form, a PPO (preferred provider organization) is like an HMO with out-of-network and self-referral coverage.
My wife worked for Mega Life and Health for a couple years. This is an organization which provides health insurance for the self-employed. I can tell you that from what she knows the benefits really suck, and the rates are simply ridiculous.
I would never take a job where I could not get benefits, unless my wife's job was able to provide good quality benefits. I would say check out a part time job or something, because you don't want insurance for self-employed people.
I think I would be in heaven if only I could find a Linux job.
I've been in the same position in Massachusetts (USA). My health plan had been HCHP (aka Harvard Community Health Plan), an HMO there; I kept in via COBRA until COBRA ran out; then I switched to just buying it on my own. Sometimes it can be hard to buy insurance -- my then fiancee had a heck of a time getting convincing HCHP that she wanted to just pay for some insurance, and that she wasn't indigent or covered by someone else's coverage.
Paranoid suggestion #1: be sure to pre-pay the first month and get the cancelled check *before* the switchover. Just in case there's a claim that there was some sort of "gap" in the coverage, you have your proof that there wasn't.
Happy Ending #1: I actually had an operation in the last few days of COBRA coverage, followed by recuperation in the first few days of regular coverage. There was never even a hint of problems, service denied or delayed, or extra bills or paperwork.
RS/1 and RS/Client consultant
I started my own business and my business partner and I insure ourselves independently. I pay less than $60 per month for full coverage (life, health, medical, drug card, etc), though I live in a smaller town where the rates are likely to be a little lower than average. You should be able to find something reasonable if you have a decent health history and shop around a little. Don't let anyone sell you dental coverage unless you anticipate more than one visit to the dentist per year.
Check out professional organizations like the IEEE Computer Society. I know that IEEE used to offer insurance to their members. I don't know any details however.
Both the Association for Computing Machinery (http://www.acm.org) and the IEEE Computer Society (http://www.computer.org) offer benefit packages aimed at the independent consultant, including professional liability insurance. I have never used them, but the rates look competitive. For my insurance needs I currently have life insurance through a credit union plan, and I have a Kaiser Permanente personal plan for health insurance. The Kaiser plan is a roll-over from my former employer's plan; we got into Kaiser as opposed to the other 3 offerings (BCBS, a local PPO, and Cigna(?) ) because they were the only plan that offered a nurse-midwife as part of their ob-gyn plan, which my wife wanted to use (we have been very happy with that, using her for children number 4, 5, 6, and 7). So if there are special features you want, particularly non-traditional ones (though I could argue that midwifery is *very* traditional), be sure to shop around.
As I move more toward independent consulting (as opposed to W2 contracting), I am looking at getting an IEEE professional liability coverage plan.
Steve Cline http://www.clines.org, http://www.objectbap.com
At first I thought you were asking a CORBA question. heh.
I did the independent thing for a year, my wife checked the health plans up and down for the four-person company we started. Blue Cross coverage plans, quality of service, and financial soundness vary quite a bit between the various US states. In Florida the application process is tedious, most any carrier will be very agressive about cancelling coverage if the monthly check is ever even slightly late, and if you're not coming in with a big group, send the mail registered!
Too many stories from other small business owners about the insurance carriers just ignoring those potential customers they don't want to deal with.
Next time around we'll look much closer at going in with some group coverage like IEEE.
So much of any of this kind of insurance depends on your situation in life. For example, I'm single, 23 years old with no children and a decent paying job. (I was contracting for a while which is why I know about the insurance :)).
:))
For me, all I wanted was something that would cover me in major medical expenses. I had to pay out of pocket for doctor visits and prescriptions, but anything over about $1000 was covered. What this allowed me to do was avoid a situation where I would be bankrupted by one large medical bill. But, little thing I had to cover. The advantage was it was under $100 a month . . .
So you need to asses your life (do you have kids, are you married, etc.) and figure out what kind of coverage you need. I would definetly reccommend what I did if you are in a similar situation. I never really go to the doctor, maybe once a year tops, so the out of pocket expenses are negligible.
Also look into a 125k plan. That's a medical expenses savings plan that is taken out as pre-taxable income. Then you can use this 'savings' account to pay for any out of pocket medical expenses that aren't covered by the insurance plan you get. OF course if you don't use the money, you lose it, but you can use it for all kinds of stuff if it's getting to the end of the year (glasses, contacts, massages
Hope that helps . . .
You're likely to get a better deal through a group
policy. A co-worker of mine had a nice PPO policy
through the IEEE. It was basically the same policy as was provided by our employer. You need
to be a member of IEEE, but there are other benefits such as lower conference fees and book
discounts which make the membership fee worthwhile. It's likely
that there are policies available through other
professional organizations as well (ACM?).
This may even be worth doing if you have company
coverage, in order to have portable insurance. You
can usually get your employer to pay for your
outside group policy rather than theirs.
could anyone please post some online resources for insurance-related info (especially for foreigners). thanks beforehand.
...is COBRA somehow related to CORBA?
...sie sind nicht grün
Hi there,
I've been self employed for 5 years now. I've also graduated to running a small company which has 4 full time employees.
When I started I just went to the bank. They were very helpful at taking my money, but I also got very comprehensive medical cover. The cost was in the order of hundreds of pounds, £, but offset that against peace of mind and a years income. I also went to a financial adviser and got a number of insurance covers: for instance if I'm permanently out of work due most reasons, other than mountain climbing unfortunately, I'll receive a salary until my retirement age, at which point I'll get my pension, another company extense.
The short of it is the cover is pretty thick out there and it's really a question of finding the best deal and also making sure you're not over covered, which I was for a while. A good way to do this is through a financial adviser.
Cheers,
4920616d206e6f742061206e756d62657221
Has anybody out there had NASE pay a claim?
A few years ago, a friend's wife (insured through NASE) went through a rough (and expensive) childbirth. A year later, NASE still hadn't paid up.
It doesn't matter how cheap/good the plan looks if they don't pay off.
From the comments here, talking to an independant insurance broker looks like the best idea.
When I was looking I was quoted $195/mo for family $155 individual from bluecross (IMHO, the best plan for Metro areas). I moved to a rural area and through a broker got an HMO/PPO policy from a local HMO that was $75 less and much better overall coverage. I got this rate via an indepent broker. You'll find brokers in most areas. The one I used was a friend of my sisters which probably yielded better rate options but they don't get a commission unless you buy.
Supposedly, this plan is like a traditional indemnity plan in that there is no managed aspect whatsoever. You can go to any doctor, any where, and they will pay the entire bill. No negotiated rates. You pay a copay for each procedure, none of this percentage stuff. The agent made it sound just about perfect; they pay whatever the doctor bills for whatever you want to have done, no questions asked. I suppose there are probably limits on cosmetic surgery and such but none of this fighting with the administrators to get medically necessary care approved.
There were a few twists I didn't quite follow; something about a deductible per injury or illness, but then there was something else that covers that, and a really funky provision where you pay a little more each month, but when you reach 65 you get all the premiums you ever paid back. Huh? I suppose that assumes that you stay in their plan until age 65, and what are the odds of that...
So, anyone care to comment on experiences, good or bad? Is it really as good as it sounds? I'm very skeptical, especially since they don't have an info packet they can mail you; they send an agent to your home instead. But if it really is a good deal then I'm all for it.
Oh yea, the plan is underwritten by Mega Life and Health. They do the student health insurance at most universities, and they seem to have some traditional plans for small businesses as well. So far I haven't found much in the way of user feedback on them out there, which is why I'm asking here. The plan they offer through NASE seems to be different from all their other offerings, anyway.
You might want to shop around for a low overhead contract firm. In my case I get 80% pass-thru with full benefits out of the 20% they keep (not matching funds in the 401k, though).
The benefits are obvious. Detriments? Not a big bench, plus you might have to beat the bushes for quality assignments and gigs.
Not bad, and it suits my lifestyle. Unfortunately I tend to be too absent minded to keep up with little details such as TAXES and INSURANCE PAYMENTS.
Seriously, though, going with a low overhead firm isn't going to shut any more doors than being independent will.
Mojotoad
You have now entered the twilight zone of life.Lie,Lie and Lie some more.If you have had a hang nail most won't insure you and those that do will want a fortune.
You smoke?Forget good rates or maybe even getting insured at all.If they take you your rates will be really high.Smokers are BAD.
Getting insurance on your own because you are selfemployed in a real feat.Move very slowly and read the fine print carefully.Some insure you for High deductables or for EACH sickness or injury.
Good Luck now you will see how good you had it being insured by your emplyer.
There are companies that provide health insurance, 401K, Payroll services and expense reimbursement for Freeagents/Independent contractors. They mimic your benefits of being a freeagent while offering corporate style benefits and you still retain your autonomy. This way you can get comprehensive coverage but still have group/low rates. See www.freeagent.com and see their back office service section.
- Personal permanent health insurance. This provides benefits should you be unable to work for an extended period of time. They typically start paying out after either 4 or 13 weeks, depending on how much premium you pay. Look for a policy that covers same occupation, i.e., if you can't program for a while, they won't force you to work in McDonalds (this is sadly suprisingly common).
- Executive pension. Not a lot to say about this, other than pick one of the rare ones (less than 5%) that don't do front end loading, otherwise your pension fund won't break even before about year 6 or so. This is a big issue with IR35, and you may be forced into a permie position and need to transfer to a personal pension.
- Executive permanent health insurance. Pays out for pension contributions should you be unable to work, with similar conditions to the personal equivalent.
- Life insurance. Covers your dependents if you die (I already have this as part of my mortgage), and may also pay a lump sum should you be permanently disabled.
- Private healtcare. Unlike the US, we have the NHS, and private healthcare is strictly a luxury item. That said, if you ever need a stay in hospital, you'll be glad you got it. Just pick one you like the look of. Now being offered by banks and building societies at a discount the normal PPP / BUPA etc. premiums, but check the exclusion clauses.
All this adds up to be quite expensive, but it's probably worth it. Off the top of my head, I think I'm paying about 100-150 quid per month for the insurance, plus a shitload for the pension (about a grand a month!)."The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
You might want to try calling BlueCross/Blue Shield. Here in Connecticut, they just added a "non-group, group plan" or some such thing. Basically you get the same prices and benefits as being on a group plan, even on an individual policy.
I don't know if that's a policy plan for just BCBSCT or if its something nation-wide through BCBS. Worth a shot though.
I am an independant consultant and have been for about 4 years now. I have had a Blue Cross PPO plan for about 6 months now and I am pretty happy with it. I agree with slag, you must access your situation. I started out with some pretty plain coverage. Then I started spending a lot more free time playing soccer and snowboarding. I got a few bumps and bruises along the way so I decided to get a plan that covered doctor visits better than my previous plan. Right now I have the cadillac PPO plan that has a $10 co-pay and some other crazy stuff. I pay about $120 a month if memory serves me correctly. This is about $30 a month cheaper than I paid in COBRA from a former employee. Have you looked a online Insurance services like www.insweb.com? They might be worth a look as well.