I am self-employed as a software contractor. I think my wife and I pay around $500 combined for the two of us via Oscar. We had BC/BS for a while but as two relatively healthy people we opted to reduce our monthly expenses a bit and switch to Oscar when BC/BS raised their prices again at the start of 2019.
Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
21–30 of 52 posts
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#22If you pay yourself little enough you can get free or subsidised healthcare through Obamacare. There are no asset tests.
This is false and will likely get you into trouble. ACA uses your last year's income tax return in order to determine whether a subsidy should be awarded. While it is true that you do not send in your tax return while applying for coverage, your insurance company does send in paperwork through a 1095-A. In the past, 1095-A was used primarily to show that coverage was carried in order to avoid a tax penalty, so, yes, you may be able to get away with it, but you'd still be lying and there will be documentation that you are lying.
Also, sole-proprietorships and S-corps, LLC or not, are considered pass through and all company income is considered personal income as far as the IRS is concerned. There's no such thing as not paying yourself in this context to drive down your income.
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#23I run a 1-person LLC in NYC. I initially used healthcare.gov for my coverage, but once my business started making money, I found that I was paying a lot for mediocre coverage. The providers I used also stopped offering coverage after 2016/2017, so I decided to switch to TriNet. They are an HR service, but also offer health insurance, which is all I use them for. I also looked at Gusto and JustWorks, but they required 1+ employees. I currently pay about $1500 for me and my family for pretty good coverage from Aetna (including dental and vision).
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#24Your best choice will likely be a plan from the ACA. In California, this is https://www.coveredca.com/. You can try and get cute and find something like a MEWA, which have theoretically been cleaned up from the disaster that they were in the past (bankrupt and not covering claims.) There's also professional organizations that you can purchase through, but I've never seen one that isn't just a gateway for the ACA.
As far as price, just check the market. There should be a way to see prices without even creating an account. The total price to account for is premium*12 + out_of_pocket_max, which should be between $11-15k for the year for a single person regardless of what plan you have. For me, I'm at about $490/month for a $7900 out of pocket max, which puts my total liability at $13780 for the year. Though, it will probably be less than that given that I'm healthy. That said, I'm not in CA.
Anyway, good luck! Running your own business is exciting and this is an expense. Also worth noting that your premiums are completely deductible as a self-employed person, which is normally not the case.
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#25This is a bit political; but relevant - vote for Universal Healthcare (Medicare for All), and this won’t even be a thought for you.
I’m from Australia and don’t need to ever worry about health care costs; and you’d never in my life get me to vote to have a system like yours here.
I say this not to rant, but to hope in my heart that America can deliver this level of care to its citizens, and free you and your family from this burden.
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#26If you pay yourself little enough you can get free or subsidised healthcare through Obamacare. There are no asset tests.
This is false and will likely get you into trouble. ACA uses your last year's income tax return in order to determine whether a subsidy should be awarded. While it is true that you do not send in your tax return while applying for coverage, your insurance company does send in paperwork through a 1095-A. In the past, 1095-A was used primarily to show that coverage was carried in order to avoid a tax penalty, so, yes,…
I'm not 100% sure, but afaik this is true in some states if you are living off of capital gains - I've seen people on the FIRE forums saying, "I feel actually bad taking advantage of subsidized healthcare, but because state law is written poorly and only considering wages, I am being opted in". In CA this loophole is not a thing, and capital gains are considered as part of your income for insurance purposes.
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#27I pay something like $430/month through Kaiser. My experience there is they are really good unless you need mental health stuff. I would especially recommend cancer—the views of SF from the chemo lounge are spectacular. Kaiser is their own insurer/pharmacy, and works like a mini version of single payer. If you're younger than me (I'm 43) you may find some plans with them that are cheaper. Another option is OneMedical…
Why do you say One Medical is for "wealthier people"? Outside of the $200 annual membership fee, it's no different than seeing any other physician if they are in-network for your insurance plan.
The only people I've ever seen there are young techies, and their offices are in hip parts of town rather than Medical Gulch.
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#28Family of 4, I pay 1250$ for the cheapest Blue Shield CA plan. I got the plan comparison on https://www.stridehealth.com/ but the enrollment period is over already for this year, unless you qualify for an event.
I assume that is per month?
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#29I pay something like $430/month through Kaiser. My experience there is they are really good unless you need mental health stuff. I would especially recommend cancer—the views of SF from the chemo lounge are spectacular. Kaiser is their own insurer/pharmacy, and works like a mini version of single payer. If you're younger than me (I'm 43) you may find some plans with them that are cheaper. Another option is OneMedical…
Also on Kaiser... they make you jump through hoops to get consistent mental health (regular weekly therapy). If you're persistent enough (call and be very direct about the kind of care you want) they'll hook you up with Magellan Health, the company they outsource to for mental health. Through Magellan, I was given a huge array of therapists to choose from in the Bay Area. If you shop around you can find someone you c…
Did they outsource the mental health care now? 15 years ago they had their own psychologist/psychiatrist staff you could meet. Did that change?
Re: Ask HN: What healthcare options exist for entrepreneurs?
#30If you pay yourself little enough you can get free or subsidised healthcare through Obamacare. There are no asset tests.
This is false and will likely get you into trouble. ACA uses your last year's income tax return in order to determine whether a subsidy should be awarded. While it is true that you do not send in your tax return while applying for coverage, your insurance company does send in paperwork through a 1095-A. In the past, 1095-A was used primarily to show that coverage was carried in order to avoid a tax penalty, so, yes,…
There is nothing false about his comment (maybe it was updated).
ACA is fully based on projected income for the year. Previous year's tax returns are one way of substantiating your projected income. But not required. If you are living off of savings and not making a profit yet on your business, you can pay yourself a small salary and qualify for full subsidies from ACA.
If you file as a C Corp (which you can do with an LLC), you could even hold profits in retained earnings and not pay them to yourself yet. You would of course have to pay corporate tax on those retained earnings.