There are some things you need to know before buying self employed health insurance Most important: although it is tempting because of the high costs involved, you should not ignore health insurance Without a proper health insurance a health problem can hurt you and your business in numerous ways.
1] Your Health If you are self employed or own a business, and get ill or injured, you need to be back on your feet as fast as possible to keep your business from losing customers.
A good health insurance will ensure you of being able to pay for the proper care.
That way your recovery should not take a day longer than necessary.
2] Your Money Treatment and medications can be expensive.
Even if you can afford to pay huge medical bills, a health insurance may be a healthy choice.
Without health insurance a series of medial bills may interfere with the growth of your business because a lack of sufficient funds.
In other words: About the only choice you should not make is to ignore health insurance You need to protect yourself, your family, and your business.
The sad fact is that unexpected medical bills combined with inadequate coverage cause the majority of bankruptcies.
When you do decide the time has come to find health insurance suitable for a self employed person, you will face many choices.
You need to find something that combines the best benefits and the lowest cost, although 'lowest' cost can be considered a poor choice of words.
Let's face it, any health insurance is expensive.
Being self employed, you will likely discover that the rates for health insurance are even higher because you have to buy an individual policy rather than a group policy.
Never do it alone.
You may decide to choose a service on your own but you should at least talk to a health insurance agent.
The agent can give you accurate information on the best package for your needs.
There are three basic types of health insurance: health maintenance organization (HMO), preferred provider organizations (PPO), and Point of Service (POS).
Each type provides different levels of protection at different costs.
HMOs are the cheapest.
With HMO, you need to choose a primary care provider.
This means that if you need health care, the care must be authorized by your primary care provider as well as the HMO.
As well, there are dangers inherent in this system.
While this is the cheapest route, the service you get might be more limited than you realize.
HMO's have the reputation of not providing coverage for many illnesses and procedures.
A PPO costs a little more but with this service you can choose from several different providers.
These providers are all in the same network and the range of coverage is wider so if you have to go outside the providers chosen, your costs will be less.
The POS health insurance plan combines element of HMO and PPO.
You have to choose a primary care physician but the POS plan allows you to go outside the system if you need special care.
POS is cheaper than PPO but like the HMO, if you have to go outside of the provider, your out of pocket costs will be higher.
The best advice is to do your homework before choosing a health care insurance plan.
The important thing to remember is that you must have insurance.
Otherwise you are running the risk of losing everything.