Individual/Family Health Insurance Article

Understanding Affordable Self Employed Health Insurance

In this guide, you will gain a general understanding of health insurance for someone who is self employed.

You’re On Your Own

The economy remains in turmoil and each day thousands of individuals around the nation lose their jobs through layoffs, terminations, and business closures. Unfortunately when these jobs are lost, it means more than just a loss of income, stability, and self-esteem… it also means a loss of medical coverage. Many individuals who have suffered the effects of the tough economy have discovered that self employment is the way to go. Getting your own business off the ground is a great accomplishment and a good way to start bringing in income, but you’ll quickly discover that when you’re self employed, you’re on own when it comes to getting health insurance.

There Is No Difference Between “Self Employed” Insurance and “Individual” or “Family Insurance”

First and foremost, you must understand that there is no difference between health insurance for those who are self employed and health insurance for and individuals and families. There are no special prices or treatments just because your status is self employed. Please be very wary of anyone offering “special insurance” only for those who are self employed or of someone asking you to join their “self employed network” so you can gain special discounted coverage.

Using Insurance Quote Engines

As your own employer, the best strategy you can use to get health insurance is to search via an individual and/or family health insurance quote engine to get a sense of the prices associated with insurance providers in your area. For instance, if you live in California one of the most popular health insurance plans is Anthem Premier Plus California. Our quote engine is here.  You can think of our quote engine (and others) as an “Orbitz for health insurance.”  Our online tool (and most others) only require a small amount of information and return a large number of results. You are typically only be required to enter your birthday, gender and your zip code to get an accurate quote. Once you have answered all the inquiries posed by a given quote tool, it will return results that highlight companies available as well as health coverage plans that detail policy specifics and pricing. In order to ensure that you get the best plans for your needs, most results include the following key information:

1) Name of Plan and Provider

2) Monthly Premium

3) Annual Deductible

4) Co-payment or Co-insurance amounts

You can also click into the plan summary to understand key details such as out of pocket maximum and lifetime payout.  A telephone number is also provided so you can speak directly to representatives that can answer questions and assist you in finding the best coverage for your needs.

Pre-Existing Conditions

If you have medical conditions that are considered to be “pre-existing,” you may run into some difficulty finding a policy that accepts you. It is important to become familiar with the laws that govern your state to determine if there is a clause for what is referred to as “Guaranteed Issued Health Insurance.” While this type of coverage is often not as inclusive as other types, it will provide you with basic coverage for your health care needs.

Speaking With an Agent

If after using the quote engines, you still find that acquiring health insurance is a challenge, it may be time to seek the assistance of an authorized agent that can help you locate the medical coverage that’s right for you. Visit our contact page to choose the best way to get in touch with a Medicoverage agent (insert link to contact page).  When you’re self employed, understanding all the steps to successfully finding health insurance may prove to be challenging, but it really can be done. All it takes is a little know how.