The Shop Floor

March 28, 2008

Mission Impossible: Affordable Health Insurance

The world is full of good reasons not to become self-employed (one of them being the delayed pay schedule, as I pointed out earlier this week). Also high on the list is health insurance, which you are going to find much easier to obtain by working for a big company. In spite of the fact that most health insurance costs can be written off as a business expense, it's still a whopping charge--even for those who are perfectly healthy.

In the last year or so, premiums have risen at a shocking rate. So have co-payments and prescriptions. New York Times small business writer Marci Alboher wrote an article on the subject recently and the response was overwhelming. Not only are many entrepreneurs and sole-proprietors struggling to pay these costs, they also have no idea why they're skyrocketing. Some high-risk candidates have had to wait years to get health insurance, while others are having to coast without it.

But this could have to do with where they live. Some states, it turns out, have more options than others. Georgetown Health Policy Institute has an interesting tool called healthinsuranceinfo.net that shows you which options are available in your state.

If you're insured, uninsured or simply want to sound-off, share your story with us.

Posted by Brandon Barker on March 28, 2008 in Management and H.R. | Permalink