Self employed health insurance?

[Matt_g]

BCBS-TX is who i use. I now offer it to my staff so i get a group rate. I have to pay half of theirs but it still ends up being a better deal for me. Paid with pre tax dollars and it lowered my family premium just by becoming a small group. Trump did away with the penalty for not having insurance so no worries for those that pay cash.

I know I’m asking a lot here, but do you happen to know what the minimum staff number is to receive such a discount? Just wondering if there is a way I could structure that through our company to cover both my business partner and I at a reduced rate...

[MRWHITE87]

Cash pay is flat the way to go.
I'm no expert but I am self employed.
I BELIEVE the magic number is 20+ employees to get grouped coverage but it still isn't going to be a discount that seems like a discount.

[Johnny Dangerr]

We could own a very nice lake house on what we pay BCBS. Turned 65 and now have to pay for the wife 3 for more years. Over 60 is painful...............

[Matt_g]

Just throwing out dumb ideas here... But why wouldn’t a group of 50-75 people form a junk LLC or corporation, solely to attain a group benefit discount?

[SoTXAg06]

We use a health care consultant to shop plans. I have a plan through Christus, and my wife has a plan through BCBS. You don’t have to carry plans through the same provider. My plan is very basic and has a high deductible, while we have my wife on a low deductible plan since she is type 1 diabetic. Combined cost right now is around $800/month.


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[gonehuntin68]

You guys that pay cash, how does that work when you do your income taxes and the IRS ask to see your health coverage? Is a penalty assessed?

Someone who is more familiar with the current healthcare laws may be able to correct me on this, but from my understanding, your no longer penalized by having no coverage...

Now that you say that, I’m wondering if I should just pocket the premium payments and set that aside for any expenses incurred. A buddy of mine found out his wife needed a treatment that wasn’t covered under their insurance at a cost of $250k. He called me panicking and I told him call back and ask what the cash price would be if he paid the same day as the operation, they took a day or two to get him a number but he ended up paying $4500 for the same surgery they would bill the insurance company $250k for. Such a joke!

I know as of last years taxes the penalty existed because I paid it as I did the previous years. I think the amount of penalty depends on how much you make. I paid around $900 last year for the penalty.

[Huntingfool]

Just throwing out dumb ideas here... But why wouldn’t a group of 50-75 people form a junk LLC or corporation, solely to attain a group benefit discount?

Has to be a true employee/employer relationship. There are groups available for two employees but will not get you a big discount.

Those just paying cash and going bare bone - I understand - it is expensive as heck. However if and when a catastrophic illness or accident occurs it can and will bankrupt you. I have seen claims in the millions on one person.

Christian Ministry plans are an option. Just read all the fine print carefully. It is not insurance -

Finally - temporary plans were mentioned several times. This are build for stop gap. The problem is they do not cover pre existing conditions. They also do not continue coverage after the term period is over - so if you have some type of health issue while on the temporary policy that coverage ends when the coverage ceases.

[Patton]

Following. Been without Health Insurance for almost 2 years

[denimdeerslayer]

I have ins and went to get mri done a few months ago. The insurance was jacking around approving it so I asked them how much if I just pay for it. $288 was my cost. If I had waited on my insurance it would have cost me $1600 out of my pocket as deductible wasnt met yet. So even if you have insurance check on cash prices.

And I can see why the price difference. If they have to bill the insurance it going to be handled by more employees to file all the paperwork to get the them to pay. Insurance adds a lot to the cost. Just look at the time involved in trying to get paid from them.

[Freer]

Has to be a true employee/employer relationship. There are groups available for two employees but will not get you a big discount.

Those just paying cash and going bare bone - I understand - it is expensive as heck. However if and when a catastrophic illness or accident occurs it can and will bankrupt you. I have seen claims in the millions on one person.

Christian Ministry plans are an option. Just read all the fine print carefully. It is not insurance -

Finally - temporary plans were mentioned several times. This are build for stop gap. The problem is they do not cover pre existing conditions. They also do not continue coverage after the term period is over - so if you have some type of health issue while on the temporary policy that coverage ends when the coverage ceases.

X2

I am self employed and have a group policy of 6 people through BCBSTX. The premium is outrages. The premium is $3700 monthly but 2 out of the group are over 60, 2 are children.

[Texans42]

high deductible major medical and cash pay Concierge doctors service.

I actually have really good insurance but still subscribe to Concierge doctor, because of convenience. No waiting in office etc. returned phone calls with in hour etc.

[SneakyPhil]

About 10 years ago I was doing 1099 work and was paying about $1200/month for a family of 4. Got out of that deal when I went to work for a company that provided insurance but after five years I was in the market for insurance again and talked to my guy. He had gotten out of the business and was telling me how much more it had gone up. We decided that my wife would go back to work just for insurance.

[Johnny Dangerr]

We still pay cash even with Medicare. Way less hassle...

[tpack]

Following. Been without Health Insurance for almost 2 years

I had a brother-in-law that never had insurance. He just rolled the dice until till 65 and Medicare. That works real good till it doesn`t. I don`t have the stones to go without it. I changed careers 20 years ago and for 6 weeks I bought a high deductible policy so I could sleep at night. Good luck.

[JBJTX81]

A lot of the big agency will have a shared plan you can participate in you have an LLC. Higginbotham in Fort Worth has a plan called EMI. Its a collection of hundreds of small and employers. It might be worth a look.