The Self-Employed and Health Insurance

"Be your Own Boss" - "Make Thousands of Dollars a Week Working From Home" the ads are all over the internet, television and radio, and while some of the claims can be somewhat exaggerated, more and more people are starting home based businesses and joining the ranks of the self-employed. And yet while the numbers of the self-employed are certainly growing, the reason why many people cling to their jobs and do not start their own businesses is because of the fear of losing health insurance. In fact a majority of those who are self-employed or operate a home based business, still do so without health insurance. A very foolish move, according to Elena Fawkner founder of web-work-from-home.com. Says Fawkner "there's no shortage of people already running their own home businesses with no health or disability coverage at all. Scary. After all, if you're dependent upon your home business as your sole source of income and you lose your health, you lose your livelihood as well." So while it can be difficult to obtain health insurance if you are self-employed, and small businesses and start-ups must have cash-flow issues and must watch every cent, not investing in health insurance is "pennywise and pound foolish"

Fortunately there are sources of health insurance for the self-employed, in fact many more than in the past, and the options are increasing. In fact recent industry studies have shown that some of the biggest names in health insurance have been expanding their offerings of individual insurance policies and policies for small groups which is good news for the self-employed. Probably the most common and cost effective health insurance if you are self-employed is to become part of a small group plan, join the group and benefit from the lower rate afforded the group. There are many such groups available, you can find a group through a trade organization related to your business, or it can be a group that has been formed to help provide health insurance to the self-employed regardless of the type of work. Local Farm Bureaus are a great source of health insurance for the self-employed and you don't have to be a farmer to join. Even "membership warehouse" retailers are getting into the game. Sam's Club recently announced that it is offering discounted health insurance to its small business memberships. Some states have even relaxed the definition of a group for the self-employed, and it is possible to be a group "of one".

Some organizations where you can find out more about group insurance for small businesses and the Self Employed are:

Home Office Association of America:
http://www.hoaa.com/

National Business Association:
http://www.nationalbusiness.org/index.htm

National Federation of Independent Businesses:
http://www.nfib.org