Ifølge U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics er 10 millioner arbejdere selvstændige i landet. At være selvstændig kan være befriende, men det betyder også, at du også er din egen HR-afdeling. En af de største udfordringer, du står over for, er at finde overkommelige forsikringsmuligheder.
Hos en traditionel arbejdsgiver havde du et begrænset udvalg af sygeforsikringsmuligheder, og du har måske haft adgang til et team, der kunne hjælpe dig med at forstå papirarbejdet og processen. Nu hvor du er på egen hånd, bliver du også nødt til at navigere i denne labyrint på egen hånd.
Det bliver ikke nemt, men vi kan hjælpe med at mindske byrden en smule ved at hjælpe dig med at lære om dine muligheder.
| Fordele | Idele | |
| Online forsikringsmarkedspladser | Masser af muligheder at vælge imellemKan få personlig hjælp til at finde den rigtige plan | Sælgere kan være partiske og tilbyde en plan, der ikke passer til dig |
| Affordable Care Act Marketplaces | Kan være kvalificeret til tilskud for at sænke omkostningerneKan finde ud af, om du er berettiget til Medicaid/CHIP/andre billige forsikringsmuligheder. Garanteret dækning for væsentlige ting | Kan kun tilmeldes på bestemte tidspunkter af året eller efter bestemte begivenheder. Omkostningerne kan være høje, hvis du ikke er kvalificeret til tilskud |
| Kortsigtet sygesikring | Lavpris | Dækker ikke væsentlige Dækker ikke graviditet Dækker ikke allerede eksisterende forhold Måske ikke tilgængelig i din stat |
| Gennem en ægtefælle eller partner | Lavpris | Ikke tilgængelig for enlige skal muligvis betale mere end din ægtefælle/partner for dækning |
| Freelancerforening eller andre sammenslutninger | Kan være i stand til at få lavere priser gennem en gruppeplan | Har måske ikke så mange tilgængelige muligheder |
At forblive sund har aldrig været vigtigere. Beskyt dig selv og dine kære med en omfattende og overkommelig sygesikringsplan. Klik på din tilstand for at få flere oplysninger. Get a Quote Today Insurance marketplaces (also known as “brokers”) are for-profit companies that sell Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange plans and non-ACA plans. It provides you with more information and assistance than going through the ACA exchange on your own. There’s no cost to use an online marketplace; instead, it gets a kickback from the insurance companies when it sells you an insurance plan.
That kickback can be up to an average of $20/month depending on where you live, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That’s not chump change so brokers might present you with biased estimates. When you’re working with a broker, it’s important to ask them whether they’re presenting you with all of the options available on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and if not, why not.
PolicyGenius is one of the largest and easiest-to-use online insurance marketplaces. In addition to health insurance, you can also get quotes for life insurance, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, renters insurance, disability insurance, and more.
To learn about insurance plans that might be right for you, choose the type of insurance you’re looking for on the homepage. Then, enter your zip code, county, and email address to see the list of plans and carriers available to you.
eHealth offers health insurance plans from over 180 companies. It’s also heavily focused toward Medicare and can help you figure out your options for this unique health insurance program. To see an immediate list of insurance plan options, select the type of insurance you’re shopping for and enter your zip code.
Speaking to a live agent can help you better understand which plan is right for you. But if you’re not ready to take that step, HealthMarkets offers a short survey instead. Once you’ve completed the survey, it compares your responses to multiple plan coverages and generates a “FitScore” for each plan that’s tailored to you. The FitScore can help you easily see which insurance plan fits your needs the best.
The Affordable Care Act is the biggest government initiative in recent years that tries to address how people — including freelancers — get affordable health insurance. The ACA created a central health insurance marketplace that’s run by either your state government or the federal government, depending on where you live.
Your options on the ACA marketplace are graded according to a set of metal tiers:
| Plan tier | 2020 average premium 1 | Insurance company pays… | You pay… |
| Bronze | $331 | 60% | 40% |
| Silver | $442 | 70% | 30% |
| Gold | $462 | 80% | 20% |
| Platinum | $501 | 90% | 10% |
It’s important to note two things here:first, the cost varies widely across the country. For example, the cheapest Bronze plan for one person costs an average of $219 in Rhode Island, but $552 in West Virginia.
Second, these numbers might shock you. If you’re a four-person family in West Virginia, for example, paying $2,208 per month on health insurance might seem like the opposite of affordable, and it is.
But one of the best features of the ACA is that depending on your income, you might qualify for subsidies that’ll help bring your actual cost down to an affordable level. You’re also notified if you qualify for Medicaid, CHIP, or other free or low-cost health insurance options.
To sign up for an ACA plan you’ll need to wait until the open enrollment period each November through December for plans that start in the new year. If you have a “qualifying life event” (see below), you can also sign up at any time:
Short-term health insurance plans are different from ACA plans because they’re not as tightly regulated. For example, they generally don’t cover preventative healthcare like annual doctor’s visits, pregnancy care, or prescription drugs.
They also come with high deductibles and carriers impose dollar limits for payouts. This type of plan is best as a temporary stop-gap measure for protection, if you get really sick or have a major accident while you’re in-between better insurance plans.
In fact, these plans are so consumer-unfriendly that they’re banned or heavily regulated in many states. Short-term health insurance plans are usually around 20% of the cost of a low-level Bronze plan, according to one Kaiser Family Foundation survey. But remember:if you need to see a doctor, it might cost you a lot more than if you purchased a full health care plan from the ACA marketplace or another source.
Not everyone has this option, but if you do, it’s generally the best way to get insured as a freelancer. Employers can provide health insurance at affordable rates for their employees, and often, their employee’s family members, too.
You might have to pay an additional fee to be included on your spouse or partner’s plan. But it’ll usually be much cheaper than finding your own plan through a broker or the ACA exchange without a subsidy. If you’re not married but you’re in a partnership you can check with your partner’s employer to see what’s required to qualify as a “domestic partner” for insurance purposes.
Professional associations can often get similar discounts that employers receive. The Freelancers Union (an unofficial union), for example, offers options for health insurance, vision insurance, and dental insurance for freelancers.
Like so many other insurance-related rates, the actual cost of these plans depends on where you live. The Freelancers Union doesn’t charge a membership fee, but other organizations do. If so, you’ll need to weigh the cost of a membership fee against any potential savings you might get from buying health insurance through an association.
The biggest factor to consider when shopping for health insurance plans as a freelancer is what your needs are.
For example, if you’re trying to start a family, you’ll want to avoid short-term health insurance plans that don’t cover pregnancy expenses. If you have a chronic illness and need health care more frequently, choosing a “cheap” Bronze health insurance plan can actually cost you more over the long run because these plans offer minimal coverage.
It’s not always easy to know what kind of health services you’ll need in the upcoming year. Some events, like a major car accident, can’t be planned. But if you focus on the kind of health services you need today, and compare multiple health insurance plans from different carriers, you’ll find there are many health insurance options for freelancers.