Health Insurance

[pastthepresent]

Here is a good question for the boardroom. I think this question is best directed at the ones who live and work in the states.

Who here is self employed and employs others? What is the cost for your personal health insurance and do you offer health insurance to others? What are good companies that offer health insurance? The difference between an HMO and a PPO?

As I finish up school in the fall I am wanting to continue new media development and not have to go corporate but I will be going off of my parents insurance. I am starting to look around at how much health insurance will run me. I am also looking at hiring a person or two as business is really starting to pick up. I think it is very important to offer benefits like health insurance to them.

Please let me know your thoughts and opinions about this topic and if there is any advice you can give me.

[nordberg]

this is a good boardroom topic...

here is a link with some pretty good info. i did a quick quote with 2 employees, 25-35 years old. turned out it would be about $250 a month, but i may have read that wrong (i'm not an insurance expert).

[pastthepresent]

nordberg thanks for the link... i know what you mean about not being an expert. does any body who has read this thread have any personal experience with this issue.

[JabezStone]

I never offered insurance to those who worked with me, simply because they were solely contract, and not employees. However, I did use a personal insurance called Golden Rule for a couple of years, and it proved to work well. Search the Boardroom for "insurance" and my username, and you'll find a thread where I talked briefly about it.

I would also like to see more discussion on this topic from those who have had experience with insurance.

[ej0c]

Can we take from the lack of response that we'll never will make enough to get health insurance?

I thought it was just an Appalachian thing.

How uninspiring!

Ed

[10squared]

You will find that no matter which health insurance company you choose, the rates are going to be high and the service sub-par. Ask your friends, friends of parents, etc. to see who is providing the best service in your area. Your state insurance commissioner *may* be able to provide statistics on complaints unless the insurance industry has managed to circumvent this source of information in your state.

One approach is to procure a high deductible policy, also called catastrophic coverage. For example, you might pay $150/month for a policy with a $5000 deductible. You never submit bills for doctor visits, since (hopefully) you don't go to the doctor enough to run up a tab that big over a year. Depending on the form of organization of your business, you may be able to deduct all of the insurance premium(s), as well as set up an account to cover the medical expenses under the $5K deductible amount. You really need to discuss this with your CPA.

A PPO is a group of doctors that have agreed to provide treatment and get paid a certain amount by the insurance company. There may or may not be one that is qualified to treat your condition. If not, you can end up having to pay 40-50% of the tab.

An HMO is a group of doctors employed by the insurance company. The complaints over the years and recent court rulings seem to indicate you are at higher risk in an HMO.

When choosing an insurance company be sensible and choose a major carrier in your state. Don't be suckered into a "great deal". When you need the coverage you need the support of a solid company with a good reputation.

Whichever company you choose based on reputation for yourself, choose for your employees. They deserve the same good coverage.

Hope that helps. Stay healthy.

Cheers,

Jim

[pastthepresent]

Jim...
Thanks for the insight. Your reply was very helpful. I have already been discussing using health insurance as a tax deduction. I also need to ask him about setting up a "medical" account. Once again thanks for you reply.