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Thread: buying health insurance

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    Featured Member cottoncandy's Avatar
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    Default buying health insurance

    I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this. How much is it to buy health insurance? Do you dancers buy health insurance? I told my mom that I want to start a business and she said that it is very very dangerous not to have health insurance. She's been worrying about it alot and keeps begging me to get a job with health insurance. How important is health insurance to have?

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    By definition, health insurance is roughly equivalent to placing a bet that you won't become seriously ill or be seriously injured. But much of the value of health insurance has to do with avoiding loss of assets/bankruptcy if you should lose the bet and rack up major medical bills. In the case of someone like your mother, who I am sure owns a house and a car and has investments and retirement funds, becoming seriously ill or seriously injured and racking up $250,000 worth of medical bills would basically wipe out everything she has worked for decades to accumulate.

    On the other hand, for a single person who does not own a home, who does not own a brand new car, who does not have an investment portfolio or a retirement fund, becoming seriously ill or injured would not really cause that person to lose much of anything. Basically, if you are unable to work and if you don't have any assets, you become eligible for government backed health benefits (i.e. MedicAid in NY, MediCal in CA) which will pick up the tab for any medical bills you have racked up.

    Even if you accept the fact that you want health insurance coverage, there is a "cash value" which corresponds to the medical benefits provided by straight job employers. Basically you can purchase top notch health insurance coverage for about $500 a month, and you can purchase bargain basement health insurance coverage for $200 a month or less. Considering that health insurance premiums are a legitimate business expense for an independent contractor dancer, of the $500 a month you actually pay like $350 after the effect of income taxes. Similarly with $200 a month you actually pay something like $140 after the effect of income taxes. So depending on what kind of health insurance coverage a straight employer would be providing you for free, it's actually worth somewhere between $140 and $350 a month.

    If you then look at the typical paycheck which goes along with that straight job, even if you add $140 or $350 to a month's worth of paychecks to reflect the cash value of 'free' health insurance coverage, I'm betting that it still doesn't come close to comparing with the earnings potential available as a dancer.

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    I buy it for a the reasons Melonie described....

    I have a high deductible at $1000 because I can handle that, but what I couldn't handle is a huge medical bill that would wipe out my assests, so this is insurance more for my financial stability than health.

    And don't do a job just because it has health insurance. You absolutely can buy it. I do and pay $160/month for personal choice.

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    Veteran Member NVJosh's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    I went through a lot of reserch when looking at health insurance for my company, and an agent I respected said that a lot of people are going for very high deductible policies these days (around $2,500 - $5,000). Statistics are that only a small number of people exceed the deductible each year, and the reduction in premiums pays for a chunk of the increase in deductible, and for those that do, they generally go way past the deductible. In other words, you're more likely to have total bills for the year more than $2,500 than you are to have them between $1,001 and $2,500. Essentially, you're gambling that you won't get seriously ill in the year, without relying on government help as Melonie mentioned. If you just have your run of the mill doctor stuff, you'll save a lot going this route by just having to pay the co-pays, and if something serious does happen, you have coverage in place, you just have to fork out a bunch more out-of-pocket.

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    wow, I thought $1000 was high

    yeah, I've never reached it and always pay out of pocket, but I like knowing my butt is covered just in case.....especially in this business

    I have decided against disability insurance though. First, it was difficult to find anyone to insure me, and the one guy that thought he might be able to said I was in the same risk group as people who build skyscrapers, which would be around $500/month for a disability payment that would be around $2000/mo.

    That I considered not worth it. I think we're categorized as much higher risk than we are. If igure if I get hurt, I might not be able to dance, but I could still work somehow.

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    Veteran Member NVJosh's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    You need to look at the difference in premiums. If a $2,500 deductible policy was $500/year cheaper, after 3 years you're ahead of the game. Sure, in year 4 you could go over the limit, and if you've banked the $500 you saved each of the first 3 years, you're break-even. If its not until year 6 you need the full $2,500, you're $1,000 ahead.

    Its not for everyone, of course. For instance, someone who has a chronic condition and has to visit the doctor once a week may know for sure they will hit the $1,000 every year, so having the lower deductible makes sense. I just think its worth investigating for a lot of people.

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    Featured Member cottoncandy's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    Thank you Melanie, Emily, and NV Josh for the information! My parents don't have money and have alot of debt that's why they told me that I'm on my own. I have a couple questions about MedicAid that I can guess the answer to but want to double check: would using MedicAid if an accident happened give me bad credit?, would MedicAid want me to pay back the hospital bills if I get married or have saved money like a year later? I'd guess the answer to these questions is no but wanted to double check. Is the health care provided by MedicAid poor quality? I'm glad to learn more about health insurance rates. Thank You!

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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    It varies by state but there are several ways you can get help in case of an emergency. Some states make medicaid available only if you qualify for assistance under some other benefit, Others are more generous. Almost all states have programs to pay hospitals for unreimbursed care, If you show up in the ER and are not already in an aid program the hospital tries to collect from you first and how much they try before going to the uncompensated pool varies by hospital.

    The debt can last a long time and they could go after you years later in most cases. In Mass. for example, though, medical bills are not permanent and their ability to try to collect is very limited.

    No DR is allowed to turn you away in a life an death situation, but if you have the flu they can practically do that by saying they will make an appointment for you in 3 weeks if you have no relationship.

    I would follow Josh's advise and have some coverage you pay for just to have a foot in the door. Save the extra from a more expensive policy, Look into medical savings accounts to cover the gynecologist etc and the run of the mill cash bills for medical. They are fairly new so you may have to dig in your area. Josh probably knows more about these than I do. I would not recommend going completely bare except on stage.

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    Featured Member mercedez's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    What insurance company do you recommend?

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    Featured Member cottoncandy's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    Thank you for the information Monty. I appreciate it!

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    would using MedicAid if an accident happened give me bad credit?
    The financial conditions which allow you to be eligible for medicaid more or less guarantee that you'll be considered a bad credit risk. Those conditions are a low annual declared income, next to no money in the bank etc. However, even if you have too much income or too many assets to qualify for medicaid, as Geek said there are other government programs which kick in when catastrophic health care expenses arise.

    The one thing that might be dicey is whether or not you are legally emancipated from your parents i.e. living in your own place, not claimed as a dependent on your parents' tax return etc. If you aren't emancipated, i.e. still living with your parents and still claimable as a dependent, then government benefits will probably be denied you and financial responsibility for any medical bills that you rack up will fall on your parents.

    would MedicAid want me to pay back the hospital bills if I get married or have saved money like a year later
    There ARE circumstances where hospitals or government benefit programs will try to collect money from you after the fact. However, in most states, they are extremely limited in the amounts which they can forcibly collect (like $20 a month for 125 years !).

    Is the health care provided by MedicAid poor quality?
    well, it's not 'best' quality, because many private doctors who have hoity toity practices refuse to take medicaid patients. But at a hospital emergency room level, there's no distinction whatsoever.

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    God/dess FBR's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie link=board=6;threadid=10830;start=msg134325#msg134 325 date=1089231667

    Basically you can purchase top notch health insurance coverage for about $500 a month, and you can purchase bargain basement health insurance coverage for $200 a month or less.
    Melonie, Id sure like to know where. I pay around $1200 a month for family plan insurance for my employees and nearly $700 for single. We have a group of around 40 employees. My carrier is Anthem / Blue Cross-Blue Shield. Ive quoted other companies and they arent any cheaper and for the most part are less accepted at the various health care providers. Health insurance is my single largest expense beyond payroll. Its killing me.

    FBR

    Once again I have embraced my addiction and have put off the moral dilemma to another day.

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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re:buying health insurance

    FBR, Insurance is very state sensitive. It would not surprise me if Melonie is paying/pricing single coverage 30% different than you. PArt of it is pure timing. If Ohio changed its rates 6 mos later than NY and Melonie got a contract in the closing days of the old rules she could be close to that different for the last year.

    A lot of this has to do with malpractice/tort laws by State. That could be 15% easily. I know Ohio was expensive when my mom lived there and her BC Medicare gap filler was expensive.

    Other options. Unless bound by a union contract, consider altering the coverage to a higher deductible or an HMO. I had a top 5 nationally rated HMO on association based contract for $350 2 years ago in Mass. Even 1.3*1.3*350 is still a lot less than 700. Buyer clout makes a hell of a lot of difference. Either the small business association or chamber of commerce or some such organization probably has a cheaper deal. The Blues have a LOT of flexibility but you pay for it, sometimes dearly. Who can join what also varies by state so YMMV.

    Also 1200/700 seems rather close considering the average family is more than 2. Percription coverages and deductibles can also vary widely by plan.

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