One of the main worries people have about being self-employed is the cost of obtaining private health insurance. I have my individual health insurance policy with and my monthly cost is cheap. This is for a temporary policy with a high deductible though so it can’t be compared to a typical group health insurance policy. My health insurance is to keep a catastrophic health event from bankrupting me rather than providing me with access to routine health care. I also save a little money on my health insurance by being an affiliate for eHealthInsurance.
A better comparison of my policy is to other individual health policies. According to the ‘Cost & Benefits of Individual and Family Health Insurance Plans’ report the average premium paid for individual health insurance coverage in the United States in 2011 was $2,196 per year ($183 per month); families paid an average annual premium of $4,968 ($414 per month). The report also found that the average deductible for individually-purchased health insurance plans in 2011 was $2,935 for individuals and $3,879 for families.
My current health insurance cost is under $50 a month with a $5,000 dollar deductible. That is for a temporary policy though, if I had a regular policy I’d be paying about $80 a month for health insurance with a $5,000 deductible or about $100 a month for insurance with a $2500 deductible. Either one is still quite a bit less than the report shows for the average. It looks like I can upgrade my health insurance once my temporary policy is done and still have health insurance that is quite reasonable in cost. This for a 44 year-old, overweight male if you are younger and thinner you should get a better rate.
The point is that private health insurance doesn’t cost as much as many people are afraid it costs. If you’re considering self-employment or need your own health insurance policy for any reason I encourage you to check out the eHealthInsurance site. It is easy to get a quote and determine how much health insurance would cost you.
That really doesn’t sound too horrific. Thanks for sharing that, I know that I’ve often wondered about the costs though believe it or not I haven’t taken a really close look since I’ve had employer-based insurance. This is good to know.
You are still better off with employer insurance.
I will have to go to your sources and look at the numbers. In the past, when my husband and I have needed to buy our own health insurance, we have noticed that there is a big jump once a person is in their fifties. It is no longer so inexpensive! We’re not there by any means, but I wonder if it is really affordable for older people who need this before Medicare.
I’m in my 40’s and there hasn’t been too big of a jump yet.
I’m shopping for health insurance for my mom – 63 years old.
$235/m for $7,500 deductible + 30% coinsurance. It will only get more expensive as you get older….
I need to look into the affiliate program.
It likely will get more expensive but health insurance might change a lot in the next few years.
Good article. Can you get an HSA card to go with that high deductible?
You can get an HSA compatible plan that has that high of a deductible but my particular plan in not an HSA plan. You can’t use any high deductible plan with an HSA it has to be a plan that is specially designed to work with an HSA.
The price of health insurance (even a high deductible policy) can vary a lot. For me the bigger issue was whether or not I could even get an individual policy. You’d be surprised what people have gotten denied for.
Yes, if you have pre-existing conditions it can be difficult or impossible to get a policy at all. That is supposed to change but we will see if that actually happens.
It’s not the up-front costs that bother me, it is the deductibles and the co-pays that are much larger than group plans.
That is true. The plans don’t cover routine care so it is necessary to find another way to cover those expenses. I don’t normally go to a doctor anyway so it isn’t a big deal for me but I know it would be for many.
Health insurance is not fun to shop for but it’s really important to have. My costs are going up a lot next year which I’m not looking forward to but I’m still thankful to have good coverage. -Sydney
One of the reasons I’d never go full-time blogging now is due to health insurance costs. It’s not just current costs, but where they’re headed with these 2-3X inflationary increases each year.