Self Employed: Health Insurance For People Who Are

Do everything you can to get health insurance. Lack of health insurance can cause a delay in seeking care, not purchasing necessary drugs or foregoing treatment. Any of these factors can lead to more serious and expensive health situations, unnecessary suffering and perhaps death.

As a self-employed person, you may qualify for health insurance through a group or association that ou may be eligible to join because of your expertise or because of your self-employed status. For example, check National Association For The Self-Employed (www.nase.org ).

If you are lucky enough to live in a state such as Vermont, you may be considered to be a group with access to small group health insurance. Federal law requires all small group insurance to be available for each member of the group, regardless of health condition (guaranteed-issue).

You may be able to qualify for an employer group policy if you hire an assistant to work the minimum number of hours per week that would qualify for an insurance company's standards. Group policies aren't subject to the same rules as individual policies and can cost significantly less than individual coverage.

Consider going to work for an employer that offers health insurance. Health insurance is that important. You may think that large corporations or the government don't hire people for the kind of work you do. However, there are few jobs normally performed by people who are self employed that are not also done by employees of large companies or the government. For example, bartenders who are normally self-employed could work for a hotel chain. If you work for a large employer, you may also get disability income insurance and life insurance in the bargain. Large corporations and government agencies usually offer the best benefits. (You cannot be asked health questions when applying for a job. In addition to your suitability for the job, the only question is whether you are physically and emotionally capable of performing the job).

People have been known to get married to someone who has insurance that covers spouses. If you're not going to live together, check the terms of the coverage to see how marriage is defined. Does it require that the spouses live together?

If none of the above options work for you, becuase of the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") you can purchase individual health insurance despite your health history. To learn abou policies available in your state, see www.healthcare.gov . If you cannot afford individual coverage, for information on how to obtain health care without insurance, see our article on Uninsured.

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