Self Employed Health Insurance
Self-employment means being your own boss, but it also means creating your own "job benefits." While vacation days and sick days are flexible for those who are self-employed, finding high quality health insurance is a challenge.
A drastic health problem can bankrupt a family, so going without health insurance is a poor choice. It is critical to find some sort of coverage at least for major illnesses; when you are self-employed, an illness means not only having to pay bills but also losing income if you cannot work while you are sick.
Fortunately, there are some possibilities. For example, insurance agents can often find health insurance for self-employed people, although it is costly and you may not get coverage for pre-existing conditions. If you had a job previously, you can retain your health insurance under the COBRA law for 18 months.
An Alternate Choice for Self-employed Health Insurance
Another choice would be to look into groups that carry insurance for their members. People who do arts and crafts, for example, may be able to join an association for their particular type of work and get insurance from that group. Just beware: there are some associations that were created just to get unsuspecting self-employed people to buy essentially worthless health insurance.
When you are looking for insurance, you will hear a lot of tempting offers - low monthly costs for complete health coverage. Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. You can end up paying a premium for something that doesn't work and then on top of that have to deal with catastrophic hospital bills.
Insurance is one of those things you don't miss until you don't have it. You think, why am I paying all this money? But not having to worry about finances removes one of the potential stresses of an emergency room visit - and the psychological peace of mind is worth it.