Author : Yuwanda Black
The cost of health insurance has kept more than its share of wannabe fulltime freelances chained to jobs they hate. But, with the global economy making independent contracting more of a norm than an aberration, finding affordable healthcare is becoming easier.
Note: I said easier ? it?s still not ?easy.?
Following is some insight on where to get health insurance when you quit a job to work freelance fulltime.
Healthcare for Independent Contractors: 2 Industry Organizations to Consult
FreelancersUnion:The site states that its mission is to ?? promote the interests of independent workers through advocacy, education, andservice [by building] model solutions to support independent workers so they can be secure and thrive, no matter how they work.?
Freelancers Union offers health insurance in 31 states and dental, life and disability insurance nationwide.
NASE: This is the National Association for the Self-Employed.
Founded in 1981, the organization provides ?day-to-day support, including direct access to experts, benefits, and consolidated buying power that traditionally had been available only to large corporations? for things like health insurance, legal help, credit card processing, small business travel expenses and more.
4 More Ways to Get Affordable Healthcare When You Work Freelance Fulltime
i) Spousal Coverage: If you?re married and your spouse is lucky enough to have health insurance, get covered under his/her plan.
ii) Domestic Partner / Significant Other Coverage: Some states now have plans where you can get coverage even if you?re not legally married. It?s called some form of ?Domestic Partner? or ?Significant Other? coverage. There are strict guidelines that must be followed to qualify though, eg:
In some state (like California) there are domestic partners laws that do require extension of benefits. There are precise definitions and guidelines that must be followed however. For instance, if a medical insurance policy is issued in CA then they must offer domestic partner coverage.
However, if you work for a company headquartered out of CA and the policy is issued in that state, even though it is insuring individuals in CA it does not have to extend the coverage since the policy was not issued there. [Source: Wiki.Answers]
Another twist to this is that some companies DENY coverage to heterosexual couples who aren?t married. Why? Because they have the option of marriage that same-sex couples don?t have. Hence, they could ostensibly get ?partnership? coverage via an already established system.
What about common-law marriage? Many states recognize couples who?ve co-habited for a certain period of time to be ?common law? mates and will extend benefits based on this.
For example, in Texas, you may be considered ?common law married?, hence eligible for insurance, via your mate?s plan in certain circumstances ? without filing any paperwork or entering into any sort of contract. However, if you move out of state, you?re out of luck.
The bottom line is, you?re going to have to do some digging to find out exactly what/how/if you qualify if you want to get coverage via this route because not only do laws vary from state to state, they vary from insurance company to insurance company.
iii) Parental Coverage: If you?re still in college, usually, you can still be covered under your parent?s plan. A few plans don?t require this; so it?s worth checking out.
iv) Coverage via Industry Associations: If you can?t get covered via any of the above, then it?s time to dig in and do some industry research.
By joining certain organizations, you can qualify for health insurance when you freelance via group plans.
Gain more insight into independent health insurance and how to freelance fulltime successfully; specifically the signs to look for that signal it?s time to quit your job to go solo.
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