Ask HN: any changes in the last year to make getting insurance easier?

7 points by neilkod 15 years ago | 2 comments

I'm self-employed with an outrageously expensive Aetna insurance plan for my business. The premiums are increasing to a seemingly astronomical $1,650/month for my family of four.

Degree of difficulty: Wife and older son(11) have some medical conditions and have typically been tough to insure.

I haven't been paying too much to the Obamacare and related initiatives but I figured I'd do some research before committing to renewing. I know that there have been some changes made to allow people who were previously considered uninsurable to secure insurance.

We are in Florida, I'm not sure if this matters.

dadro 15 years ago |

That rate is actually in-line with other family plans. What makes it more expensive is you don't have the employer contribution component being self employed. I have a PPO plan that is actually more than that per month but my employer covers ~75% of the cost.

Some states, like MA, have a "Health Connector" which is a marketplace for insurance. Unfortunately FL isn't too progressive when it comes to state funded insurance initiatives so you probably won't find much, particularly if you are in the non-poverty income bracket. The self-employed get the shaft when it comes to health insurance in the US because they lack collective bargaining power against the insurers. .

I'm not too well versed in what is going to become of "Obamacare" as nothing major has been rolled out. Some of your more immediate options are:

- Consider looking into a p/t gig that includes health insurance. - Have spouse look into p/t gig (Municipal/Town Job!) that includes insurance. This is what many tradesmen in US do. - Look into joining a trade group or professional group for discounted rate - Look into state funded insurance marketplace.

consultutah 15 years ago |

As of September 23rd, 2010, you should be able to get less expensive insurance for you son: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/ChildrensPCIP/child...

It also looks like there will be a federally run plan that your wife could be included in: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/preexisting/states/...

I purchased the domain, http://healthcarelawfacts.com, to answer these types of questions. I really need to get that going... Anyone wanna help? ;-)