You normally need a qualified life event to change your health coverage, so I hired my wife, added her to my payroll, and will offer the plan to her through my company, which should satisfy the requirements.

We only have 2-4 (depending on business flow) employees covered under our policy.

If you work with an independent insurance agent you’ll have better luck finding a plan to fit you. Of course, you’re limited by your state guidelines. For instance some states don’t allow high deductible catastrophic insurance which means you’re paying more out of the gate.

One advantage to a group over an individual is the “pre-existing condition” issue. I had an employee with Celiac disease who couldn’t get individual insurance but was accepted under our group plan during the open enrollment period.

For the past 3 years my primary physician hasn’t taken any insurance. I know what he charges for every service before it’s performed and the price is always reasonable. Lab work & prescriptions are still covered under my insurance so I’m not really paying that much more than I was before but the difference in care is astonishing.

Of course, what do we know…we’re not in Congress :-)

If the costs doubled I’d still pay it without much complaining.

John DeFlumeri Jr

We’re young and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We both use high deductibles plans as a way to save.

Going w/o insurance is just to risky for us. One broken bone could deplete our emergency fund pretty quick.

BTW…our office works with small group health insurance.I asked around and the highest renewal we have seen for 1/1 is 42%!!!

RJ

I’ve bounced from not having insurance to having insurance for many years. I’m currently covered under Richard’s plan. When I was self-employed, I got denied for insurance for things such as “having a prescription” (yes, ONE prescription, that runs about $35/month), so I went without insurance for years.

Not having insurance just means you do things differently. You negotiate cash payments and discounts with providers, you seek out alternative practitioners, and you become quite conscious of your own health. At least I did. My Celiac disease diagnosis this year was done with no traditional providers and no health insurance. It ran me about $1500, all told. Traditional providers might still be trying to figure it out.

-Erica

Keep your free plan. If for some reason you lose your job (hoping you don’t, however), that should be a qualifying event to add you to your husband’s plan.

You say that the 10% increase includes a decrease in your employer’s subsidy so technically your benefits increased x% and your compensation decreased y% for a combined decrease in your net take home pay of 10%. It’s actually a little less than that because your withholding will decrease but you get the picture.

CYC has a small business policy with a high deductable & an health savings account (HSA) option. Premiums run $250 p/month for healthy (non-smokers) in their 40s. We each throw $50-$100 p/month into our HSA.

Betty

I hear what you are saying though about the 10% increase. Imagine if you were a student at UC Berkeley and saw a 32% increase??