Any self employed people here? How do you handle health insurance and got any tips?

[sam dupont]

Not being a smart *** but that is because someone who makes more is paying the rest for you…That’s how it works as it is income based and punishes those in the middle class..

Funny, I see as I am subsidizing people who get it free from employers and pay zero income tax on tens of thousands of income.

 

[Roger63]

Perception is only clear if you want it to be.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

Where is the affordable health act?? If you are talking about the Affordable healthcare act through the government that is the one that priced my family OUT of healthcare. They do have new policies now though with $8,000 deductibles so you can pay 17k a year but if you need anything it’s 25k a year. The “sales person” told me they will get the $$ either way and the system is horrible for those who work. Those were her exact words.

I am just repeating what I was told by my friend. He told me that he would not have been able to continue paying insurance without Obama care. I know what I pay for my Blue Cross and I sure am happy the wife went on Medicare.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

free from employers hasn't been the norm for a LONG time (unless government job). My employer pays 70% and we pay almost $450/mo for me and my wife for Kaiser HMO. (And I have a really good job)

 

[4406bbl]

Funny, I see as I am subsidizing people who get it free from employers and pay zero income tax on tens of thousands of income.

You really do not know what you are talking about, the only way they pay zero income tax is to give benefits to the employees, and buy stuff like cars for employees to use. That is kind of why
corporations are allowed, better pay and benefits for the employees and vendors, they in turn pay taxes off their higher income, and to drive the economy. If you know a magic way I can pay no tax, I paid 10s of thousands last year even with a professional tax person, other than spend most on the business and employees I am all ears. I can pay no tax for a few years, but not for long or I am fined for being a tax shelter. The 11% that are self employed are getting ripped off on health insurance, the obamacare people knew it would happen but did it anyway and said there would be a fix....the fix has never came. Iy you make 100-200k and are self employed you have a tough nut to crack that is for sure.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I dropped mine 2.5 years ago when it hit $2500 a month just for my wife and I. The UNaffordable care act destroyed the healthcare system especially for self employed people as I was paying about $1250 month and then with in a few years it doubled. Hopefully one day it WILL actually be affordable again but I doubt it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Long before Obamacare, we had Romneycare here in Massachusetts and my premium went from 700 bucks a month for a family plan to 1,200 in a few short months. When Obamacare kicked in, they went up higher again. Now, my wife and I pay $2,100 per month (25K per year) for just the two of us which is completely outrageous.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Seems like we scared off the OP with the health insurance issues, perhaps the highest hurdle to self employment. When I was a trucking company executive, the organization sought to create a an environment of total subservience by the driver pool, while still being one of the most sought after employers in the tank truck industry. We had our cake, and ate it too, by offering free family health insurance, better than what the Teamsters had. When that option became cost prohibitive, the company began to unravel.

 

[Roger63]

It takes a special type of person to be self-employed. Self starter, motivated with a get it done no matter what attitude. Someone who likes working long hours, you can't just half *** your own business. Your either all in 200% or your done before you get started.

 

[OKDart]

I’ve heard of people that retire early take a part time job that offers health insurance, and just work the minimum hours. Starbucks was one company that had good benefits for part timers. Do a search and I’m sure you can find more.
This isn’t even an issue in most other countries, it’s really a shame too. Just so we can have a massive unneeded industry for people to get rich.

 

[YY1]

Self employment also requires tolerance for customers, who often are not the type of people you would care to associate with outside of a business environment.

Sometimes a high tolerance.

Judging by complaints I read on here about buying/selling in various forums (craigslist/ebay/facebook/FxBO, etc), many are NOT cut out for it.

 

[wvmarv]

Move to Canada and start your business. Then you won't have to worry about the health insurance part it.

 

[mgoblue9798]

Exactly this… I had a guy approach me who I knew was also in Property Maintenance and he said oh you should do what I just did.. bought another truck, trailer, chainsaws, trimmers etc along with two more mowers gonna make a lot more now.. Ran into him two years later and he sold everything and went out of business.. I said what happened? He said the one guy totaled the truck and trailer along with one mower that flew off while running a red light…. He said it was the worst decision he ever made, spent a lot of money made more but in the end with expenses he made less and had three times the headache with just two other guys as they f-d everything up and he was always touching up things, finishing jobs and fixing things. Said he was better off and kept more $$ working by himself!

Yup same principle applies across most businesses. When you go from a one man operation to having employees working for you your problems increase exponentially. I made the same decision as some others on here to keep it a one man show after getting burned a few times.

 

[MarPar]

Starting your own business and being your own boss means putting in more hours, having a lot more stress and less free time. Judging by your wants, being unemployed and collecting welfare sounds like the gig you're really after.

 

[mgoblue9798]

Move to Canada and start your business. Then you won't have to worry about the health insurance part it.

Or Massachusetts

 

[mgoblue9798]

Self employment also requires tolerance for customers, who often are not the type of people you would care to associate with outside of a business environment.

Sometimes a high tolerance.

Judging by complaints I read on here about buying/selling in various forums (craigslist/ebay/facebook/FxBO, etc), many are NOT cut out for it.

Amen. In my business all of my customers have had a car accident and have been trying to deal with the insurance companies. Half are pretty hot before talking to me, but most feel better after venting and knowing they found someone that can help them.

There are a handful every year that I just won't deal with though because you can tell up front it isn't going to be worth the headaches.

 

[4406bbl]

Or Massachusetts

It sounds like Rich was paying high rates in Massachusetts, the same as I was paying here with the so called Husker deal from senator Nelson. It was all a pipe dream, the only way you get cheap insurance is to work for someone else for low pay, or not work at all. Those in the 100-200k a year range are getting ripped off, better off to work for a corporation that covers the big part of that 30 grand a year.

 

[QuickBpBp]

Funny, I see as I am subsidizing people who get it free from employers and pay zero income tax on tens of thousands of income.

You can look at it that way but it’s not accurate. The fact is YOU are the reason the employer is paying $3,000 a month for each of his employees instead of $132 a month.. Not trying to offend but simply state the facts if your not paying for it SOMEONE else is.

 

[wvmarv]

I dropped mine 2.5 years ago when it hit $2500 a month just for my wife and I. The UNaffordable care act destroyed the healthcare system especially for self employed people as I was paying about $1250 month and then with in a few years it doubled. Hopefully one day it WILL actually be affordable again but I doubt it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Health care costs were screaming out of control long before The affordable healthcare act came along. Our healthcare costs in the IBEW were doubling every couple of years during the 2000's and we were self insured.

 

[eldubb440]

health insurance is incredibly important......but when contemplating self employment, it may be the least of the worries

 

[YY1]

My last job was self insured and we had an "out of the box" finance director.
For a couple glorious years we had both an HSA and an"employer pays for everything except in the donut hole" plan.
Employer contributed 50% to the HSA, plus seeded $500 the first year! and it rolled over every year.
Donut hole was above $1500 but below $2500. So max out of pocket was only 1K anyway.

I'm diabetic and I paid a whopping $12 the first year out of pocket and I think I remember paying nothing the second year.

A lot of the people including the union couldn't understand it and sued to have it repealed.

No examples of actual harm were cited, only that the theory was too complex and that is sounded like employees might lose money in certain circumstances.

WTF?

The next year was back to no HSA, $35 co-pays (every 4 months for me), and employee contributions of $480 a month with only an 80% benefit for anything else.

...and my HSA paid my prescriptions pre-tax, which went back to $140 a quarter post tax money.

IDIOTS!