Health insurance options for self employed [U.S.]?

[Archipelago]

For those who are self employed, I’d like to hear about what you’re doing for health insurance. Is the best bet to go with gov’t insurance? Any other options out there?

-Type of plan
-Cost per month
-Anything else noteworthy, pros or cons

Thanks!

[seattlecyclone]

By "gov't insurance" do you mean the insurance from private companies that is sold through healthcare.gov or your state's equivalent marketplace?

[Archipelago]

By "gov't insurance" do you mean the insurance from private companies that is sold through healthcare.gov or your state's equivalent marketplace?

The latter. State's equivalent marketplace.

[nalor511]

Aca, kaiser bronze hdhp/has, $1/mo, covers practically nothing

[Sibley]

Aca, kaiser bronze hdhp/has, $1/mo, covers practically nothing

Well of course it covers practically nothing. Bronze = low premiums = limited coverage. The HDHP means that you're going to pay a lot more out of pocket before insurance kicks in. If you don't want to pay so much out of pocket then you'll be paying more in premiums. Switch to a gold PPO plan and you'll get very different results.

Yes, the system is messed up six ways from Sunday. That you picked the cheapest possible plan and are surprised that you got the cheapest possible results is on you.

[startingsmall]

We're not eligible for employer insurance (I'm self-employed and my husband works for a church, which means they don't have to play by the rules) and so we purchase ours through our state's BCBS. It's the same plan you could get on healthcare.gov, but I purchased directly from the insurer because I couldn't remember my healthcare.gov password and didn't want to jump through the hoops to get it.

For our family of three, a silver plan is $1200/month. Coverage is comparable to what we had through our previous plan through my employer.

[sonofsven]

Look into a plan that qualifies you for an HSA for the investment opportunities; yes, the bronze level covers very little (Example: a yearly wellness check up is covered, but not the lab work the doctor ordered that would actually check for the "wellness")
I've also used Gold level plans on years where I've planned on more care needs ( obviously not possible in case of emergency).
Money in an HSA carries over every year. I consider my HSA monies  to be an emergency option to pay for medical needs until the high deductible is met, otherwise it just stays invested in VTI.
Worst case scenario would be a medical problem in December where you spend the $6k or whatever your deductible is and then in January your policy resets and you need to cover another deductible.
If you're under the income requirements the ACA (or state versions?) are the best bang for the buck.

[geekette]

Look into a plan that qualifies you for an HSA for the investment opportunities; yes, the bronze level covers very little (Example: a yearly wellness check up is covered, but not the lab work the doctor ordered that would actually check for the "wellness")

Basic lab work should be covered (along with mammograms, colonoscopies, recommended vaccines, and a host of screenings).  The problem I've run into is that it has to be coded correctly.  It's not so much of a problem now, but we ran into that the first year of the ACA.

[Fishindude]

If you're not insured through an employer, ACA (affordable care Act / Obamacare)is just about your only option and most states only have 2-3 insurance companies to choose from.
Its stinks !   It's anything but affordable, spouse and I pay $1500 per month for so, so / average health insurance.    Could have bought a similar plan for half that price pre ACA.   

[Morning Glory]

Look into a plan that qualifies you for an HSA for the investment opportunities; yes, the bronze level covers very little (Example: a yearly wellness check up is covered, but not the lab work the doctor ordered that would actually check for the "wellness")

Basic lab work should be covered (along with mammograms, colonoscopies, recommended vaccines, and a host of screenings).  The problem I've run into is that it has to be coded correctly.  It's not so much of a problem now, but we ran into that the first year of the ACA.

On my old employer plan, the lab work was covered as "preventive care", but the charge for the phlebotomist to draw the blood was subject to deductible and copay. I called HR to complain about misleading language in the brochure. I guess I could have drawn the blood myself and sent it to them???

[sonofsven]

For those who are self employed, I’d like to hear about what you’re doing for health insurance. Is the best bet to go with gov’t insurance? Any other options out there?

-Type of plan
-Cost per month
-Anything else noteworthy, pros or cons

Thanks!

If you're going to do it now is the time. The deadline to sign up is tomorrow.

[nalor511]

We're not eligible for employer insurance (I'm self-employed and my husband works for a church, which means they don't have to play by the rules) and so we purchase ours through our state's BCBS. It's the same plan you could get on healthcare.gov, but I purchased directly from the insurer because I couldn't remember my healthcare.gov password and didn't want to jump through the hoops to get it.

For our family of three, a silver plan is $1200/month. Coverage is comparable to what we had through our previous plan through my employer.

If you do not buy though the marketplace then you cannot get premium tax credit

[BlueMR2]

If you're going to do it now is the time. The deadline to sign up is tomorrow.

That's just for open enrollment, right?  Change of status enrollments will still be allowed after that?

[sonofsven]

If you're going to do it now is the time. The deadline to sign up is tomorrow.

That's just for open enrollment, right?  Change of status enrollments will still be allowed after that?

I don't know the answer to that. I personally enroll in December.

[LightStache]

Covered California Bronze BCBS HDHP. $358/mo premium at 36 y/o. In network, $7K deductible and $7K out-of-pocket max. Out-of-network $14K deductible and $20K out-of-pocket max.

Those deductibles and out-of-pocket maxima stack, so if you use both in-network and out-of-network it could be $21K deductible and $27K out-of-pocket max.

Like any insurance, I only buy coverage to handle a loss that I couldn't. $27K would sting, but OTOH in a typical year I don't have to fight for reimbursements because I'm not entitled to any :D.

[startingsmall]

We're not eligible for employer insurance (I'm self-employed and my husband works for a church, which means they don't have to play by the rules) and so we purchase ours through our state's BCBS. It's the same plan you could get on healthcare.gov, but I purchased directly from the insurer because I couldn't remember my healthcare.gov password and didn't want to jump through the hoops to get it.

For our family of three, a silver plan is $1200/month. Coverage is comparable to what we had through our previous plan through my employer.

If you do not buy though the marketplace then you cannot get premium tax credit

Correct. Our income is too high to qualify for tax credits, though, so the cost for us is the same regardless of how we purchase. Once we start scaling back on work, we'll switch to purchasing through the marketplace.