Almost 100 million people in the United States either have no health insurance or are underinsured. Many of those individuals are freelancers.
Freelancers are private contractors that work with clients and get paid on a per-project basis. Given their classification as a contractor rather than an employee, companies can work with these individuals without providing healthcare benefits which leave freelancing professionals to fend for themselves when it comes to doctor’s visits, trips to the hospital and medication.
If you’re interested in understanding how to obtain health insurance for freelancers, you’re in the right place.
In this write-up, we share ten ways that contractors can get covered, at least to a degree.
1. Find an Affordable Plan in the Healthcare Exchange
The most popular means of getting a health insurance plan is purchasing one on the healthcare exchange. For the uninitiated, the healthcare exchange came about as a result of the affordable care act (ACA).
As a provision of the act, a universal marketplace was established at healthcare.gov where all citizens can compare and buy plans. Depending on your income and the state that you live in, you may qualify for free, quality healthcare through the exchange.
2. Use Your Spouse’s Coverage
If you’re a freelancer that has a spouse who’s insured through their work, you’re in luck. Most healthcare policies have to legally allow you on your spouse’s plan.
For those of you that are not married but have been in a committed relationship with a person that you live with for a substantial amount of time, you may be able to share healthcare benefits by classifying yourself as the domestic partner of the insured individual.
3. Get on Your Parent’s Policy
Are you under 26-years-old? Does one of your parents have health insurance through their work?
If you answered yes to both of those questions, you can probably get on your parent’s healthcare plan.
Talk to your parents about how you might be able to obtain insurance through their corporate policy. If you’ve been on your parent’s corporate plan for years already, so long as you’re still under 26-years-old, no further action should be required to keep enjoying benefits.
4. Consider COBRA
COBRA is short term insurance coverage that employers are legally required to facilitate after you leave an insurance-covered job. Typically, COBRA premiums are very high and may not represent good value.
Still, COBRA is an option when transitioning from being an employee to a freelancer. You can learn more about COBRA here.
5. Ask Your Steady Clients If They Offer Care
This is a long-shot but it may be worth asking clients that you work 20+ hours per week for if they have any insurance options or ambitions to create some. Chances are, they’ll say no since the reason your client works with contractors is probably to avoid paying for insurance.
By putting the fact that you’d be interested in coverage on their radar though, your client might look into restructuring.
6. Explore Union Options
Very few freelancers are aware that there is a freelancer’s union. By joining the union, you gain access to healthcare plan options that they offer.
Generally, you’ll find a better plan in the healthcare exchange then you’ll be able to locate among freelancer union options. Union options are worth exploring though so check them out to see what’s available to you.
7. Use Your University’s Plan
College students that side-hustle as contractors should look to get health insurance for freelancers through their university. While not specifically for freelancing students, university health insurance is cheap and offers access to on-campus doctors that can provide a myriad of services.
Speak to your school counselor about health coverage offered through your school and see if you’ve already opted in to the program (on many public campuses, opting in is a requirement).
8. Leverage a Health Savings Account
Health savings accounts are a lot like regular savings accounts. The difference is that the money you put in them is used exclusively for healthcare expenses.
A key advantage of sticking your money in an HSA is that most HSA’s are tax exempt. That means that deposited money is deductible from your taxable income.
9. Participate in Health Shares
Some religious organizations offer health shares where a pool of people all agree to split each other’s healthcare costs. This arrangement is not dissimilar to what standard insurance providers offer but on a smaller, non-profit scale.
The issue with health shares is that, because of their religious roots, there may be a lot of coverage exemptions that fall under subjectively sinful acts.
For example, an HSA wouldn’t be likely to pay out if you were drunk driving and had a car accident or if you needed resources to go through with an abortion.
10. Engage Uniquely Structured Doctors
If finding health insurance for freelancers is still presenting a challenge after going through our options above, you could strike a deal directly with a doctor. There are a growing sect of doctors that provide healthcare services at a flat, monthly rate.
That rate usually covers any costs associated with your doctor’s labor. What these fees aren’t likely to cover are supplies like pharmaceuticals, bonding to create casts and similar things.
Health Insurance for Freelancers Is Attainable… If You Know Where to Look
Finding health insurance for freelancers is not as simple as just opting into an employer plan. By following our tips though, we’re confident that you’ll be able to find a plan that not only takes care of your healthcare needs but does so at a price that you can afford.
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