Ask HN: Freelancers in the US: What do you do for health insurance?

Prior to ACA, we had my wife and kids on a COBRA plan out of Maryland from when we lived there (God bless Maryland for making COBRA last as long as you want, and making it last even when you leave the state) and me on a separate individual policy. Together they were about as expensive as our current plan, and they had higher deductibles/OOP max and poorer coverage.

Still grateful for the Maryland coverage, though, as I would have had to have a normal job once we moved to FL otherwise.

The problem is that insurers try to deny claims based on a patient having a pre-existing condition that they weren't paying for.

yes i am aware that the 26 rule is an obama care result. However, if I am nice, and I am, I pay my parents the extra cost per month to go from a spousal plan to a family plan, which is $85/m, shocker.... However if my parents had other kids younger then me that required a family plan it would have saved me money, yes. in my response to another post, i noted that this was really the only positive to Obama care that I experienced.

>And maybe in part because you're spending that $84 someone else who has a pre-existing condition and no health insurance will be able to not die or go bankrupt if they get something serious.

I dont think it is fair that I have to pay for someone elses health care expenses. ESPECIALLY since that someone else doesnt take the time of day to shop around for the best coverage for the cost, care to look at success rates to avoid re-works, or heaven for bid, self diagnose themselves and go directly to a specialist that can result in more expensive care. If people actually had to pay for the coverage they used, they would take the time to shop around and make informed decisions, and do things like exercise and eat well, avoid smoking and recreational drugs, then people with pre-existing conditions, and low incomes wouldnt have to pay so much for their care. Its called capitalism, and the health insurance industry would look VERY different. Obama care only gets us farther from where we need to be, and makes the entire situation worse. I know I sound like a jack ass right now because some people would suffer in the short term, but if you eliminated obama care, and the health insurance industry, we would be better off in 10 years. keep medicare for the poor, old, and disabled if you want, keeping it will have very little affect as its an income tax and not a premium subsidy.

>You have to buy insurance because our system now factors in the strain on the system you would cause if something happened to you and you didn't have insurance. Just think of it like a tax (or the tax penalty like a tax, and the subsidy like a reward for responsible behavior.) That's how the Supreme Court thought of it.

If the government allowed care providers to go after uninsured individuals assets and not eat the costs. AND if the government allowed back charging for care given to qualified medicare/medicaid individuals, there would be no need to increase the burden on me to help pay for everyone else who goes in for care un covered. over 75% of the uncovered costs pre-ACA are people treating the ER like their PCP anyways. If we allowed capitalism to work, those individuals who go to the ER for a cold would eventually go to a PCP and only pay $25 for the visit and $15 for the generic meds.

Those young women who made the decision to have sex not knowing if the individual they "Tangoed" with would help with any costs or work will soon learn that it was a poor decision. Sheltering the consequences of ones actions is not an affective way to direct behavior for the masses. That young girls friends will see that it was hell, and their parents will learn it was an expensive decision, and then those other girls and their parents will do a better job being responsible citizen. I shouldnt have to pay for coverage that is ultimately needed because of poor parenting.

And yes, with any statistical examination there will be a small percentage of people that statistics work against, IE. the less the 1% of pregnancies due to rape.