Practical startup question: Do you founders pay for health insurance out of pocket while working full-time on your projects?

you read my mind

Harj: As someone 'visiting' from the UK do you need health insurance or can you use an E111/Euro Health card/travel insurance instead?

Massachusetts has a law that (may) be going into effect on June 1- It requires that all citizens of Ma have health insurance.

They have two programs to deal with this- The first is Commonhealth, which provides free or subsidized health care to those who, in the last year, have made less than 300% of the federal poverty line. Many people who are currently students may be able to use this, and have their coverage be at no or very low cost.

For those people who don't qualify, As on May 1st there's a new program, Common Choice, which will be a private-public partnership, to try to bring 4 or 5 low-cost health care plans to everyone. Given that everyone in the state now needs health care, essentially the state is negotiating it's own group rates.

It's not a bad system, but it's still new. The Poor are covered for free. Employers with over 12 people are required to offer Health Insurance. People who work alone, or in a small startup, can get a plan for ~ $120/month.

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=hichomepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Qhic -Colin

Actually, health insurance is an important factor. If you catch pneumonia or the flu, you're looking at getting knocked out for 2 months (pneumonia resulting from a "cold" that was not properly handled), 2 weeks (flu) without medical intervention. Personally, I'd rather take some meds and be back on my feet in 3-5 days than not be able to afford to see a doc or take some meds....putting my startup behind which would kill me more than an illness. Without insurance you're looking at least $110 for per doctor visit and about $90 bucks and up depending on what meds you need (PER prescription). Or let's say you broke your arm or leg because you tripped on your shoe laces while walking down the stairs of the Y Combinator building. Without insurance you're looking at about $2500 and up to get it fixed and that doesn't include the cost of seeing a doctor added into it.

Paying $120 bucks a month to cover potential injuries or finding affordable medical insurance and covering yourself for potential injuries is a definitely an important factor not only for yourself, your company, but also to prevent you from getting your co-founders sick.

It is true that if you're younger you are less likely to get sick. However, if you are under a substantial amount of stress, your immune defense will drop and your chances of getting sick increases. That's why you see a lot of people get sick during mid terms and exams.

So for all of you who are in a startup, I suggest you get at least 1000-2000mg of Vitamin C. Clinical trials have shown that taking 1000-2000mg (usually an 8oz glass of OJ, depending on type of OJ) of Vitamin C a day provides prophylactic use (prevents the occurrence) against acute stress induced illnesses.

You have to pay to visit a doctor? That's insane!

I mean, prescriptions, elective treatment I can understand. But are you saying that you actually need to pay just to walk into an examination room?