Health insurance on 1099 contract

Anyone have suggestions for individual health plans in the US? I was looking for a basic HDHP w/ HSA, and even those were running around $400/mo with a $6000 deductible. I hate to inquire what a more conventional health plan would cost.

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MeanDrunkR2D2

On 1099 it is going to suck since normally an employer will eat up a good chunk of the cost, but still not cheap by any means.

thedudeabides

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

On 1099 it is going to suck since normally an employer will eat up a good chunk of the cost, but still not cheap by any means.

Alright. So $400/mo for a low end plan is kind of par for the course, eh?

thomas_

I’m paying $470/month for a plan similar to what you posted. Last year I was paying about $200/month less. If it goes any higher this year I might cancel it altogether.

EANx

Every state is different. Someone could chime in and say "I'm only paying $325" only to find out you're not in their state.

paul78

You may want to to check your state's health insurance marketplace. That's worked well for me in the past. Insurance plans vary greatly by state.

victor.s.andrei

thedudeabides wrote: »

Anyone have suggestions for individual health plans in the US? I was looking for a basic HDHP w/ HSA, and even those were running around $400/mo with a $6000 deductible. I hate to inquire what a more conventional health plan would cost.

If I were in your shoes, I would take the HDHP with HSA, deduct it on Line 29 of Form 1040 since I'm self-employed, and open and fully fund an HSA with a low-cost provider, deducting the HSA contributions on Line 25 of Form 1040. That is, of course, unless you have medical expenses every year.

paul78 wrote: »

You may want to to check your state's health insurance marketplace. That's worked well for me in the past. Insurance plans vary greatly by state.

Plans and prices also vary dramatically by ZIP code.

NavyMooseCCNA

If deductibles or premiums go much higher, it won't be worth it to have health insurance.

Queue

NavyMooseCCNA wrote: »

If deductibles or premiums go much higher, it won't be worth it to have health insurance.

Hospitals charge you way more than they do insurance companies. I recently was exposed to someone telling it all on Facebook and their bills are close to 175k. It was an ER visit, jaw surgery (putting wires in), and all the follow ups. I bet you an insurance company wouldn't pay close to that amount.

TechGromit

thedudeabides wrote: »

Anyone have suggestions for individual health plans in the US? I was looking for a basic HDHP w/ HSA, and even those were running around $400/mo with a $6000 deductible. I hate to inquire what a more conventional health plan would cost.

The major disadvantage of getting individual coverage,is you can't get the group rate any decent sized company can negotiate with insurers. Your paying a higher rate than a small employer can negotiate, and on average a larger organization pays 18% less then smaller one for the same coverage. In short your screwed, even assuming your mega big employer didn't pay a dime towards your insurance premium, the simple fact is they can get you a better rate than you can get on your own. If i was to ever work on 1099 contract and had to obtain my own health insurance, I would demand / charge a rate that would cover me for the best possible coverage available. In New Jersey, that would be the United Health care's "Silver CoPay Select 70", with a $1,376.17 per month premium, giving me a $16,514.04 total for a years coverage, so I would charge/ demand at least 20k to cover these costs for my contract.

thomas_

Queue wrote: »

Hospitals charge you way more than they do insurance companies. I recently was exposed to someone telling it all on Facebook and their bills are close to 175k. It was an ER visit, jaw surgery (putting wires in), and all the follow ups. I bet you an insurance company wouldn't pay close to that amount.

Isn't there a study that most people who went bankrupt due to medical bills had health insurance? Also, having insurance doesn't necessarily cover all of the charges you are billed for at the hospital. You would think that as long as the hospital you went to and the doctor you chose were in network you wouldn't be liable for any out of pocket costs after your deductible was met.

However, it's fairly common for hospitals to use assistants that were out of network to assist on procedures. Since they were out of network your insurance company is going to try to weasel out of paying the bill and the hospital is going to try to make you pay since you signed a document at check-in saying that you would pay for any charges your insurance company wouldn't cover. You end having to argue with your insurance provider and the hospital before one of them finally folds.

It's insane that hospitals are able to performed advanced surgeries on the human body, but they can't guarantee that everyone that does work on that surgery will be covered under the insurance plan of the person being operated on.