Although being self-employed offers many advantages - being your own boss, enjoying all the profits, etc - there are also some downsides. For example, you no longer receive sick pay from your employers should you fall ill. Obviously this can pose problems, especially if you have mortgage payments to meet and other monthly outgoings, since without any sick pay, you don't have any income when not working. Thankfully, there are options to take out health insurance if you're self-employed.
Exploring the Options
The first thing you need to do when arranging self-employed health insurance is to compare the different insurance providers. One of the problems with being self-employed when it comes to health insurance is that it can often be more expensive to arrange than if you were fully employed by a company. However, if you look around and compare your options, you should be able to find providers that offer rates that are comparable to full-time employed benefits.
You can either do this via calling health insurance providers in your local area, or for more options use a search engine like Google to find online providers. An excellent resource to use is
Health Insurance Info, which offers details on what health insurance plans are available in your particular state. Additionally, it also informs you of potential high-risk industries, as well as the providers that specialize in different areas.
Other options available to you include the
Small Business Service Bureau, or SBSB, which not only offers advice on health insurance cover for the self-employed, but also general business tips for running your own business. Having a site that combines all this information onto one dedicated portal can make running your business a lot easier.
Perhaps one of the best websites for dedicated advice on where to arrange your self-employed health insurance is
eHealth Insurance. Here you can compare up to 70 health insurance providers, with policies to suit your particular needs. If there's any drawback to this site, though, it's that it doesn't cover all US states - if your business is in Rhode Island, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont, you won't be able to take out insurance.
Additionally, the policies are only for one person - so, if you're running a business yourself you'll be fine, but if you employ people they won't be covered. You can get round this by only employing sub-contractors, who would then have to take care of their own health plans and taxes, etc.
If you're unsure, the best option is to speak to your local Chamber of Commerce. These can advise what options are available in your state, and you may even be able to receive self-employed health insurance cover via a Municipal Employees Health Insurance Program. Although traditionally for employed workers, some states will allow this to cover small business owners as well, so make sure you find out if it's applicable where your business is.
