Business owners

[CB]

I started a thread yesterday that got lost in the server switch. I am in the middle of starting my own business, and things are booming. I'm definitely going full throttle on it now, so i had a few questions for anyone who pays for their own insurance. I'll be losing my company paid insurance very soon, so has anyone found quality health insurance for reasonable rates?

[subby]

what kind of business did you start?
and for insurance.. what state do you live in

[thebrick]

I would shop around A LOT. There are many to pick from, but its not cheap. A big factor will be how large of a deductible are you willing to endure to get a lower monthly rate. Your age will determine your rates too. I have been self-employed for 23 years but am on my wife's insurance these days because she has awesome coverage through her job. I got really tired of that "due to the increasing costs of health care your premium will increase on...." letter.

Edit: I would check out Blue Cross Blue Shield as a start. They have a small business plan I believe… and they are very good. Don't know about their rates these days though...

[Dusty Hanshaw]

Originally Posted by CB

I started a thread yesterday that got lost in the server switch. I am in the middle of starting my own business, and things are booming. I'm definitely going full throttle on it now, so i had a few questions for anyone who pays for their own insurance. I'll be losing my company paid insurance very soon, so has anyone found quality health insurance for reasonable rates?

I'll bring you some info from who Evian and I are using through our payroll company with House of Fitness.

[Soulstealer]

Originally Posted by thebrick

I would shop around A LOT. There are many to pick from, but its not cheap. A big factor will be how large of a deductible are you willing to endure to get a lower monthly rate. Your age will determine your rates too. I have been self-employed for 23 years but am on my wife's insurance these days because she has awesome coverage through her job. I got really tired of that "due to the increasing costs of health care your premium will increase on...." letter.

Edit: I would check out Blue Cross Blue Shield as a start. They have a small business plan I believe… and they are very good. Don't know about their rates these days though...

HMO 25/50 (25 for primary care and 50 for specialist with $100 copay for both hospital and bloodwork is around 525 a month including 1500 in dental coverage

[OuchThatHurts]

See if your local or state chamber of commerce has a plan if you can't qualify for a group plan.

[CB]

Originally Posted by Dusty Hanshaw

I'll bring you some info from who Evian and I are using through our payroll company with House of Fitness.

Perfect.......will that be passed along at a feast in the near future?? I hear BOB is ready to put on a display.

[CB]

Originally Posted by subby

what kind of business did you start?
and for insurance.. what state do you live in

Environmental consulting. Mainly hazardous materials testing and clean-up oversight. I'm in Arizona.

[Steak Helmet]

Business health insurance is expensive....the company I worked for was trying to find some for us. I have a great plan and only pay 65.00 a month. That same plan but with a deductable of 2,500.00 instead of 1,500.00 was 323.00 a month.

If this is just you and a buddy, then I would just buy your own. UNLESS!!! you can find a great rate?

[pesty4077]

Originally Posted by CB

I started a thread yesterday that got lost in the server switch. I am in the middle of starting my own business, and things are booming. I'm definitely going full throttle on it now, so i had a few questions for anyone who pays for their own insurance. I'll be losing my company paid insurance very soon, so has anyone found quality health insurance for reasonable rates?

Congrats! I own 2 businesses, My advice for you is get catasophe health insurance only or you will be paying about $600 for a family, per month. Catastophe is only used when your bill is over a certain amount, say like $5000. If I paid $600 per month, that would be, $7200 per year. I do not spend even a fraction of that. You do want to be protected in case of something major. My son had kidney failure about 4 years ago, the bill was $200,000, I paid $5000.

[Pekkerwood]

I use Aetna for my employees through the Payroll provider I use. For myself I kept my Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I have a HSA policy which basically allows me to keep money in an account like an extra IRA. One downside is most plans require a large deductible In my case $1800 for an individual. My plan pays 100% after the deductible and it is $329 or so.

[Pekkerwood]

One more interesting note from an employers perspective: When I pay 100% of insurance they selected one plan that they "must have". When I pay only 75% they selected an entirely different plan that still met their needs.

I guess another way of going about this is to offer to pay 75%, let them pick the plan, and then pay it all. Or a "cafeteria" type plan where they can spend the benefit money how they wish.

[CB]

Thanks for all the advice. Everything has pretty much fallen into place, now. I will be partnering with another who has the same background as myself. He has already been working at figuring the insurance issues out. What a pain in the pocket. Other than that, things are going great. Even with this economy, we are busy. If things keep going like they have from the start, 2009 is going to be a very lucrative year..... and a lot more free time. I can only hope. Need to model my views more like Dusty, and i will be golden.