Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello,

I'm starting a business after many years at a steady job with benefits, and after reading some of the articles here I've seen that my health insurance options would be to continue coverage via COBRA or shop for an individual policy.

Is one or the other generally better considering cost, coverage, etc.? My wife and I are both in our mid-30's and have 3 children, and everyone's in good health. From what I've seen it looks like we will pay more to continue our coverage using COBRA, but I don't have access to the amount of my coverage paid by my employer to know for sure.

Just wondering if anyone can provide any insight and maybe any other gotcha's to watch out for I'd be grateful.

Thanks,

Nathan

I am about to embark on a similar venture and I am curious of the answers. Thanks KF

I am about to embark on a similar venture and I am curious of the answers. Thanks KF

The only thing you have to be careful about is that COBRA insurance is a short-term measure and they won't allow you to stay on it forever.

The health insurance battle was one thing that almost kept us from going full time with our businesses.  I wish that I had known 3 years ago what I know now.  I was already paying a high premium for my insurance at my 9 to 5.  Now I pay the same amount, but I'm building money up in my account.

We found that using a health savings account with a high deductible plan would let us stay on budget for our health care costs, plus we're putting money into the savings account each month to use for whatever health care costs we want to use it for.  Within a couple years, our account will be built up enough that we will have no real potential for out of pocket health care expenses even if we had major medical costs.

I'd be happy to answer any questions I can about using the health savings account.  For us it was a huge discovery.

the battle is not so hard when going with individual health insurance it will actually save you 30% over the group option and probably even more. I can securely say that most people who use the services at http://www.easytoinsureme.com reduce costs by 30-50%

I looked at several different types of health insurance.  The most affordable type of health insurance plan is a catastrophic (high deductibles, but lower premiums) plan.  Then, you can set up a savings plan to cover the deductibles.

Or, you can take out a “Wellness” plan.  This type of plan covers prescriptions, minor fractures, cuts, check ups and other typical illnesses.  But, it doesn’t pay a dime for cancer, stroke, heart attack or any other major health event.  If your family is young and in good health, this may be a better route than traditional health insurance.  Cost for such a policy are around $255 per month.  This is a low enough premium where you would be able to start a savings plan for major health events like a heart attack. 

There is another alternative to traditional health insurance as well.  A person I worked with set up a prepay plan with the local hospital.  He pays a $100 to $150 a month to the hospital he would go to.  By doing this, he is building up a credit history and payment account with the hospital.  It’s only good if he stays within the immediate area of the hospital though. 

Speak to a professional before you buy health insurance. I am a firm believer in arming yourself with information before jumping into anything, so getting a free quote and a wealth of information before committing to something like this.

useful information for me

I absolutely agree about seeking professional advice first, this is a minefield. Also, another suggestion is not to let yourself be bogged down with any kind of long-term contract, as the entire health insurance industry is going through changes and will continue to do so until the U.S. adopts something logical. At this point we're surfing on chaos here.