Just thought I'd pass this along. If any of you are buying health insuarance through your clearing firm or a private insurer check out the National Association of the self employed. It's much cheaper than the other alternatives. Hope it helps somebody.
Are you referring to MegaLife insurance through the NASE? Are they using someone else? I have used them for 2 years. I didn't have to file any claims with them and they provide group rates for the association. I ended up canceling because of a class action suit against MegaLife and very poor claim record.
I have no experience with NASE, but recall seeing an article a couple of years ago stating that NASE is not so much an association as it is a sales arm of one particular insurance company - apparently it was started by the insurance company, and does not have many other actual functions or benefits of membership other than the insurance. I did find this current article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_37/b3899076_mz021.htm Were I hunting for insurance, I'd check eHealthInsurance.com and talk to at least a couple of independant agents who represent multiple companies.
This case was mentioned in the class action notice I received last month. The service was terrible from that firm.
I never used them, I had it through my clearing firm. A friend of mine who owns his own landscaping company has a family plan and he was paying the same for him, his wife and his kid as I was paying for just me. He never had any problems and his wife gave birth as well.
Folks having earned income might wish to google the term "Health Savings Account." These are not popular yet --- but to me are the best of both worlds. Just went into law last year and almost like a Health IRA. These grew out of the old "Medical Saving Accounts" but are better. It's like keeping your premiums if you don't go to the doctor that year, yet you're covered for anything catastrophe. You pay out of your HSA for up to your deductable -- which is high -- but certainly no higher than when you pay your own full premiums. Not everyone is eligible and HSAs must be coupled with applicable high deductable insurance plan, but looks very compelling in my case. A family could sock away over 5k each year tax-free and the unused portion grows into a tidy sum by retirement age. Various investment vehicles are allowed in the account. Then at retirement, you can use the funds for anything you wish -- not just medical, as you'll be on Medicare. Taxed at your income level when you take out after retirement. Bush got this passed to provide more control over your own health costs, and it reduces frivalous doctor visits (I've got the sniffles! or duh, doctor, I have corns on my feet) and actually could add up to some nice dough by retirement age. Blue Cross/Blue Shield is expanding this and that means even more insurance companies will follow their lead. Your current insurance company may even offer them. I'm still researching but looks very interesting so far.
bullrat, With your HSA, are you still able to get discounts from medical providers like regular insurance? For example, with my plan, a typical doctor might normally charge $200 but has a contract with the carrier to offer the service for $100. So long as you still get those kinds of discounts, I think the HSA is great if you're relatively healthy and have some years to sock away some $ for future needs.
The last time I talked to Blue Cross/Blue Shield about HSAs (half a year ago), no one knew what the hell I was talking about. Has this changed?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote from Hurricane: With your HSA, are you still able to get discounts from medical providers like regular insurance? For example, with my plan, a typical doctor might normally charge $200 but has a contract with the carrier to offer the service for $100. So long as you still get those kinds of discounts, I think the HSA is great if you're relatively healthy and have some years to sock away some $ for future needs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hurricane, I don't have an HSA yet -- as I said, I'm still researching. I'm still on BCBS corporate plan, but my understanding is that the discount is valid with an HSA. I haven't been able to determine if its a comparable discount though. I'm trying to find that out. -bullrat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote from sprstpd: The last time I talked to Blue Cross/Blue Shield about HSAs (half a year ago), no one knew what the hell I was talking about. Has this changed? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- sprstpd, I had bookmarked this article, is why I mentioned that about BCBS. I thought it was encouraging sign. Good luck. Blues pledge nationwide expansion of HSAs -bullrat
I just priced out a HSA through Fortis. It seems like a good deal. 87 bucks a month and I am covered on everything above 2500 bucks a year (2500 is the highest deductable you can have with a HSA). I can use my HSA money (pretax) to pay for everything up to the deductable or even dental etc.... Seems good. I can even keep the money in Stocks or even trade stocks on Margin in the damn account. The money compounds tax free until you use it or retirement withdrawal. The plan I just priced out is designed for a trader. I think I am going to go with it when my current deal is up. It was actually 77 bucks with 9.95 a month for a dental/optical card (which is a good deal based on what I have heard).