With the ability to choose their own hours, work from home and pick and choose the tasks they perform, freelancers have it good among their peers in the wide world of employment. Avoiding many of the headaches of working in a modern world, freelancers have no boss, no rush hour worries and no schedule written in stone.
Unfortunately, they also have no health insurance.
Freelancing for a living definitely has its perks, but it features a few unique downsides as well, and a lack of insurance benefits typically offered by employers ranks as first and foremost among them. This leaves atypical workers without coverage, often a condition that persists when health care isn’t a pressing concern and only rearing its head when something unexpected occurs and medical costs begin to pile up.
Setting out on your own is fantastic, but you may need a medical hand along the way; check out these four insurance options for freelancers:
1. Group HMO Insurance Plan
The most inexpensive route available, a group HMO (health maintenance organization) health insurance policy offers basic medical coverage with generally low costs, though there are a host of restrictions.
A group HMO policy will allow you to choose a single primary care physician – a family doctor – from a pre-approved list of participating doctors. Once you’ve chosen this physician, you’ll need to see him or her each time you have a medical issue, obtaining a reference to see a specialist if required; that specialist must also be a pre-approved participating doctor.
While a group HMO policy does limit your options, it also does away with deductibles for both individuals and families while offering co-pay options that are generally less expensive than found in other policy types.
2. Group PPO Insurance Plan
Giving you more flexibility in choosing care and who you receive it from, a group PPO (preferred provider organization) health insurance policy extends your freedom at a similar cost as an HMO policy, but co-pay fees for exercising that freedom can prove prohibitive in some cases.
Allowing you to choose doctors based on personal criteria, with no need to first inspect a pre-approved list of participating physicians, a group PPO plan also allows you to skip straight to a specialist should the need arise. While you are free to choose your primary care physician and specialists without restraint, there is a co-pay fee associated with choosing a doctor outside of the PPO provider’s network; co-pay fees will also apply for emergency care and medical prescriptions.
With more fees to keep an eye on and a deductible for both individuals and families, a group PPO policy is best suited for those who want to exercise additional control over their medical care, even if that control comes at a cost.
3. Health Savings Account
A health savings accounts (HSA) is a structured health plan that sees you contribute on a regular basis to a fund that will exist to cover medical expenses if and when they arise. This allows you to save towards your deductibles, using them to pay for all current and future medical expenses tax-free.
Allowing you to forego a full-fledged insurance policy, an HSA does require that you first purchase a high deductible health plan (HDHP) as it will not cover some of the initial costs associated with receiving medical attention. A minimal annual deductible is also required by the United States Department of the Treasury for the HDHP if you want to open and maintain an HSA.
It should be noted that those with pre-existing conditions will not qualify to purchase an HDHP and deductibles for those who do quality will start at $5,000. Your HDHP also will not cover regular doctor visits or medical prescriptions, making it a potentially expensive option depending on your particular circumstances.
4. Individual Personal Health Insurance Plan
Regular individual personal health insurance is an option for anyone, including freelancers, but its high costs and fees make it a prohibitive choice for most. With many states allowing even an individual business owner to declare themselves as a “group” for the purpose of purchasing insurance, there are almost always cheaper and more comprehensive options available to those in need of health coverage, such as those detailed above.
If You're Struggling To Make Money Online - Click Here And FINALLY Get Answers To All Of Your Questions About Making Money Online
Leave a Reply