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Health Insurance Blues:How do small business owners & Musicians manage this?
How do you small business owners & musicians manage your healthcare?
I have got the major big-time Health Insurance Blues. I had always used my wife's healthcare plan but now she has switched to a job that does'nt offer any health insurance. My biggest problem is prescription medicine. I have been succesfully treated for three years strait with a medication called adderall for an attention deficit problem. Now that I am not covered it costs me $220. a month. I simply can't keep paying it for much longer! I already tried a couple of local places for help but this particular medicine was'nt covered. Who else here has been in a similiar situation? Anybody have any ideas or suggestions? I guess I need to try to find some reasonable private insurance to pay for? I don't have much experience with how to ask insurance companies for insurance esspecially if I need a particular coverage but I have a bad feeling it is tricky. Reply here or even email me directly at: [email protected] [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] Please help me if you can, GuitarEasley
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One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas... How he got into my pajamas I'll never know. |
#2
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Re: Health Insurance Blues:How do small business owners & Musicians manage this?
It's a complicated subject.
As I'm sure you've found out, there's no cheap way around this. And of course, your premiums depend on your age, where you live, number of kids. As for your prescription meds, all insurance companies handle it pretty much the same. Once you've sent in your application (with truthful answers about your pre-existing conditions and prescribed medications), they'll offer you a policy with a set percentage added on for your prescriptions. If your basic monthly premium as stated on their rate sheet is high (because, say, you're an old geezer with a wife and kids living in a big city, like me) they'll probably tack on 20 percent or so. If your basic premium is cheap because you're young, rural and childless, they'll probably ding you for another 40 or 50 percent, since the prescription is a fixed cost. Then there's the basic question of HMO vs. PPO. Your monthly premiums will be lower with an HMO, but it's risky. Ever wonder why some haircutters wind up working at Supercuts? Same goes for doctors. And besides, the big ticket PPO's like Blue Cross and Blue Shield get steep discounts on medical services which get passed on to you, and you benefit even if you never make your deductible. Makes a huge difference in what you'll pay for your wife's mammograms and pap smears, for instance. With any PPO, you'll save money by going with a really high deductible. Probably a good bet if you're young and healthy, aside from the ADD. You also might want to consider becoming a corporation. The initial cash outlay is high, and there are other tax consequences that differ from sole proprietership. But the upside in your case is that, since you would be an employee of your corporation, your health coverage would be 100% deductible. As opposed to the 50% that's deductible for you now as a self-employed person. Or you could move to the UK or Canada. Brent Hahn |
#3
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Re: Health Insurance Blues:How do small business owners & Musicians manage this?
I joined a small business association for $35 a year and that allowed me to get a group rate on Health insurance. It's about $100 less a month than buying directly from an insurance company.
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#4
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Re: Health Insurance Blues:How do small business owners & Musicians manage this?
Well, since you are a musician, you might want to look into joining ASCAP. I believe they have quite a good health plan for a low price, much the way SAG does for actors. Check out www.ascap.com for more info, but it might be right up your alley.
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Check my group out at: www.mp3.com/the_sons_of_edison |
#5
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Re: Health Insurance Blues:How do small business owners & Musicians manage this?
Get a recommendation from a friend for a good local insurance agent and sit down with them. There are all kinds of ins/outs to different plans that only someone who deals with it every day would know. Often they can piggyback you on a local company's group plan. There are also many state-specific laws that could be meaningful to your situation - especially with regard to pre-existing conditions, etc.
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#6
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Re: Health Insurance Blues:How do small business owners & Musicians manage this?
My insurance does not cover prescription meds... so I order overseas. I take Imitrex for migraine headaches and they are $16.00 a pop here in US. The price from the pharmacy I use in Italy is $6.50 each. You can legally order a 90 day supply. Email [email protected] for more info... you'll find their prices at least 50% of what you'll pay here in the states.
Hope this helps! |
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