Sunday Mailbag: Medical Insurance?

Q: Being self-employed, what have you done about medical insurance? Have you found affordable medical insurance with decent coverage? It is something we all need.

A: Believe it or not, I wrote the post below a week ago, before my self-employed daughter had her sudden medical crisis without having any health coverage. Since then this hits home a lot more… in fact some of the sentences I wrote below are downright spooky in the light of my daughter’s current situation.

I have been self-employed for about 30 years now, and getting affordable health insurance has always been a challenge… and it keeps getting harder and harder. Medical costs in the U.S. are ridiculous, with pharmaceutical companies allowed to price gouge with almost no restraint,  doctor’s fees and hospital costs off the charts, and even the most basic of insurance coverage is ridiculously expensive. Back when Obamacare was implemented things were looking up thanks to the exchanges and those resources. It’s not perfect but it did give self-employed people some affordable choices. Basically I have a policy with a very high deductible that only covers serious health problems should they arise, to prevent us from being financially decimated should one of us develop a serious illness or get into a bad accident. That’s really all I can afford. Dental, low deductibles, comprehensive coverage… those are all pipe dreams unless you make really big money as a self-employed person.

I don’t have a specific recommendation for a company to go with. You have to shop around to find something that you can afford and will give you some kind of safely net.  One piece of advice: don’t stick with a single company for long as they raise your rates fast once they have you in the fold. Look into new insurers every year or two. They want your business and will give you better rates or better coverage to get you to sign with them. Then start looking again when your rates get jacked up. Another thing you can do is find a company that allows you to lock in your rates for a period of time. Most insurers will lock in your rate for 12 months, but some will lock it in for two or three years for just a little more of a monthly premium. That’s a good bet right now, because costs are rising every chance they get to raise them.

Another piece of advice: be healthy. I am not talking about not getting some disease or into an accident. That stuff will happen if it’s going to happen. I’m talking about taking care of yourself. Don’t smoke. Control your weight by eating right and getting exercise. Do whatever you can to maximize your chances of being healthy. Many insurance companies give you discounts if you don’t smoke, show that you exercise, and otherwise have good health habits. Every little bit helps.

Having to provide your own health insurance is one of the real downsides to being self-employed. With no company having hundreds of employees to use to negotiate good rates from an insurer or to pay part or all of it as a benefit, the self employed are at the mercy of the insurance industry.

Thanks to Robert Comeans for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!