Let's face it, getting adequate health coverage is probably the largest obstacle to overcome for people choosing to leave behind the days of working for a large company in favor of working for themselves from home. Medical care is expensive, and if you are uninsured, you are in trouble. So, how have so many people been able to make this leap in recent years?
First of all, in many cases, one spouse continues to work for a large company, therefore maintaining health benefits for the family through their work. This solution is probably the most cost effective, because employer provided insurance still has the best coverage for the lowest price.
But, if this is not an option, there are other resources out there. There are several associations for small business owners that provide discounted insurance plans. Join one of these associations, like the National Association for the Self Employed or the American Association of Home Based Business. By joining one of these or other associations you are increasing your buying power when it comes to insurance coverage. Insurance companies tend to give better deals to larger groups.
Another alternative is to raise your deductible or lower your coverage. Both of these measures can cut your monthly premiums by quite a bit. Often the coverage we are used to is actually more than we really need. If you are a relatively healthy person who visits the doctor only on occasion, then you can probably get away with a higher deductible or lower coverage. Why pay more for services you don't really need anyway?
Medical Savings Accounts are also worth checking into. These savings accounts are designed to work in conjunction with higher deductibles to take care of the smaller, day to day expenses that you incur before reaching your deductible. Medical Savings Accounts allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars specifically for medical expenses up to the amount of your deductible. This system works pretty well, as long as you monitor your medical expenses very closely at all times.
Many health providers offer discount plans directly from the source. If your physician works for a health care company instead of for himself/herself, then these companies offer programs where you can buy a discount card directly from them for a nominal annual fee. Then, whenever you visit the doctor you show them the card and you get an automatic discount from between 10% to 25% for each visit. These discount plans are not considered insurance, but rather just a discount offered at the time of service.
The days of self employed physicians seem to be numbered, but if you do go to a doctor that is self employed, it is possible to sit down with the office manager and negotiate a lower price for any service if you are willing to pay cash up front. Doctors are willing to do this when they can save themselves the headache of filing insurance claims and paying for billing services to collect from you later.
Health insurance may be the biggest obstacle you face when building your own home based business, but even so, this obstacle is not insurmountable. There are always options out there for you to choose from.
By Vil Pietersen
