Health Insurance For Self-Employed People

When you work for yourself, one of your challenges is finding health insurance. Keeping yourself healthy is important. Then again, a health insurance policy can put your overhead so high that your profits dry up.

But it doesn’t have to. If you shop around and compare plans from several agents, you can find a plan that gives you the coverage you need and is affordable. Here are a few of your options.

Self-Employed Insurance Options

There are many kinds of health plans available. Which one is best for you?

If you want to cover your family or your employees, you’ll want to look into group health insurance. With a group policy, your entire family (or staff) will be covered under one policy. If you find the right policy, this can be the most affordable option. However, if someone in your group has a serious pre-existing condition, everyone’s premiums can be expensive.

If that’s the case, you’re better off with an individual health policy. The premiums on an individual policy only depend on your health status. That means it can end up being cheaper for small groups to get individual policies. And if you only need to insure yourself, an individual policy is the way to go.

What about the plans themselves? A few of the most popular plans include:

• PPO plans — or Preferred Provider Organization plans — give you flexible coverage. You save the most when you use a doctor in the plan’s “network,” but you’ll get some coverage when you use other providers, too.
• HMO plans — or Health Maintenance Organization plans — generally offer the most savings and the most predictable costs. They feature low copays and often have no deductible. But you have to stay within the plan’s network to get coverage.
• HSAs — Health Savings Accounts — aren’t health insurance plans, but they offer a great way to lower your health costs. Used in conjunction with a high deductible health plan — often a PPO plan — HSAs let you save money before you pay taxes on it. You end up getting free money from the government to pay for your healthcare.

Don’t forget prescription drug coverage. Some plans include it, but many don’t.

Finding The Right Plan

You need a plan that covers your needs, so you can stay healthy. You need a plan that’s affordable, so you don’t empty your bank account staying covered. And you need a plan that isn’t complicated — because when you are your own boss, you have better things to think about than insurance.

The best way to find the right plan is to work with a professional agent. And we make it easy to find one. When you use our free service, we’ll match you with professional agents in your area. You can explain your needs, ask questions, and compare their offers. Choose the one with the best match for you. Or choose none of them — you have no obligation to buy anything.

When you’re ready to start talking with agents, just fill out our short form to request your free insurance quotes.