Hubby and I met with a health insurance agent to see about combining to a shared plan and adding maternity for me. The cost is over double what we are paying for our seperate plans now and the options were extremely limted. In fact, there was only one carrier and a health savings plan to choose from. And the savings plan would only cover $2k of the cost of having a baby (which is about $13k here). Seriously, how do the self-employed handle having maternity coverage?

We are both self-employed so we don't have an employer's group plan we can jump on, and we can't add any employees to make our own group plan. Anyone else out there run into this?

Thanks!

At the risk of provoking another thread that could turn political and contentious I'll just say that your situation illuminates what I think is one of the great problems facing small business owners.

I actually had a very heated debate with a photographer after a guild meeting last night about the health care system and insurance situation. Let's just say we didn't agree and my viewpoint was called a variation of the term "bull[excrement]".

My advice, consider meeting with more agents. There are plans out there... and there's also a >20 hour-a-week part time job at Starbucks for the health insurance.

Health insurance really does suck. We currently have it through my husband's job. I have no idea what we will do when he retires...or how expensive it will be then. I know my son got a health insurance policy when he was 20 and disclosed that he had seen a chiropractor...nothing wrong...just sports and keeping everything where it should be, and they wouldn't cover his back...at all...for any reason. Geesh, I don't even want to tell them what all I've seen a doctor for in my 44 years...lol

Doesn't PPA offer group insurance? I thought I heard recently, though, that someone was having trouble getting a previous condition covered through this insurance.

Tammy- that is brilliant, I never even thought to look at PPA.


Damon- don't even get me started. :0) The starbucks idea had crossed our minds...

It just seems with so many small business owners out there, someone must have this problem fairly often.

I'm resurrecting this thread rather than start a new one. I'm looking at what we pay for our health insurance. I'm in open enrollment month with our current carrier and trying to decide if I want to stay or switch.

Has anyone used PPA for health insurance and are their plans worth joining PPA? (I know there are lots of other benefits but for right now I'm looking at the insurance to see what they will provide.

Our current policy is just outrageous and in addition to what we pay each month we then have a huge deductible to meet.

Starbuck's is looking better and better all the time...

Honestly, I didn't see any great group rate deduction in rates of being a PPA member when I was seeking out quotes.

i have to say, i am so glad this is something iw ill not have to worry about! self employed or not...

Ugh, insurance stuff drives me mad!

I was FREAKING out about it for a while. Luckily I just found out that since Nate get's it, I get it, even though we aren't married. Yay for Apple being a liberal company!

Only way I'm ever going to get something is if I'm declared disabled and go on disability. I've had leg problems since I was 16 and it continues to plauge me. So.. yeah... Disability, do what I love? Hard choice there.. really... and even better, Indiana is the longest of any states to approve it, at over 26 months. But then you are paid retroactively.. which doesn't help one squat if you need it to pay bills.. but

Insurance looks at me and just sees a money looser....

Did you look recently? I got something in my email about the PPA group health rates but you need to email them for a quote and I haven't gotten around to it yet. I think it sounded promising from what I read...

Remember... health insurance is expensive. No matter who pays for it.

The reason it's cheaper through an employer -- because the employer is paying a large part of the premium for the employee. Add in large group purchase discounts for mega employers and it becomes cost effective for the employee.

But, like tax with-holding, take the employer out of the equation, and you're left with all of the premium yourself.