The Home and Main Street Business Owners Guide To Affordable Health Insurance

by Maria Marsala

Summary: The resources below may assist you as your consider which health insurance companies to choose. This is not a recommendation of one program over another. Use the information below under your own discretion.

Finding health insurance, as a business owner, can be difficult and is usually expensive. But it doesn't have to "break the bank". When I became a business owner, I did a LOT of research before finding insurance. The list below is a comprehensive list of insurance resources I found and a great places to start your research. If you find an additional resource, contact me and I'll add them to the list.

DISCLAIMER: It is the reader's sole responsibility to abide by all pertinent jurisdiction laws and regulations pertaining to their business and health. Each person is responsible and liable for the outcome of acting on any of the suggestions included in this article. You're on your own to research and/or purchase the program that is the most appropriate for you. Maria Marsala is not a licensed health insurance agent or broker and is providing this information as a resource list to get you started.

• What Did You Have?
  Check what you might already have available from your previous job via Cobra

• Memberships
  Many business and professional organizations include group health insurance as a member benefit. And individuals and business owners join organizations specifically for this membership benefits. So review the benefits of the organizations you belong to or that are located in your community. The list below may help you get started.
• Your local Chamber of Commerce or a nearby Chamber
• International Computer Consultants Organization www.icca.org/.
• Public Relations Association www.prsa.org.
• Fraternal companies and organizations such as Modern Woodmen of America, Knights of Columbus, Sons of Norway http://dmoz.org/Society/Organizations/Fraternal/Benefit_Societies/
• The company where you are a Independent Agent
• The National Association for the Self-Employed, www.nase.org.
• Alliance for Affordable Services
• More organizations http://coachmaria.com/articles/networktosuccess.html.

• State Programs
  Some states, Washington for example, provide basic health to lower income residents and many business owners fit this category, after expenses, for a few years. For additional information on what is available in your state, contact your State Insurance Department or visit their website.

• States Department of Insurance (DOI)
  Talking about your state DOI, you can request a list of insurance companies that are registered in your state. You can also ask about complaints that have been filed against those companies. Note: When you purchase insurance of a company that is not registered in your state, if anything goes wrong, you have NO recourse.

• Insurance Brokers
  Check your phone book for Insurance Brokers, who for a fee, will help you determine the best deal for you. I would check with 3 brokers in your area since they may deal with different companies.

• Other Companies
  There are many companies, who provide, as part of their overall services, a health plan. Fraternal companies also are part of this category. Some I found while researching are:
• www.uicisolutions.com/
• www.libertyplusplans.com/
• www.affordableservices.com
• http://www.insurancebudget.com/
• http://www.fb.org/
• www.healthinsurance.com/
• http://www.unitedhealthcare.com/
• http://www.premera.com
• Freelancer's Union/Working

• Department Stores, etc.
  Check your department store and wholesale store memberships. In some states, like CA, HI, NV, OR and WA, Costco , www.costco.com offers health insurance to executive members (the cost is $100 a year for membership). So I recommend to check every membership you possess to see if you already have a company who will insure you.

• Ask Your Doctors
  This may sound like a strange way to find insurance, however, it's the way I found insurance when I lived in NY. I really liked two of the doctors I went to. So I asked both doctors for a list of insurance companies the take. Then I checked to make sure that the companies were on the NY DOI list of registered companies (they all were). Next I got a list, from NY DOI, of the companies that have individual polices and crossed off, from my Doctors list the companies who would not insurance me. I was left with 4 companies, researched them all and found one company that fit my needs.
  
  Do you have a doctor(s) you really respect? If so, ask them which insurance policies they accept and start your research there.

• Spouses and Domestic Partnerships
  In some states you may qualify as a "domestic partners" and therefore share in health coverage. In some companies, even in states where you might not qualify as a domestic partner, you maybe eligible for insurance coverage. Your spouse may have coverage for you, too. Check it all out.

• Friends
  Ask your friends and colleagues what companies they use. This is a great way to find out which companies to stay away from and which to explore.

• Recommendations
  Personally, I've met many insurance brokers but there are two I'd recommend. Both are in WA state, however. Micheal Patrick will provide you with his counterpart in your state if you email him and tell him I sent you. He sells AFLAC and a variety of other insurances, too. patrick_mb @ hotmail.com Also in WA is ezine subscriber Kris Conway, an independent Agent you can email at kconway15 @ msn.com NOTE: remove the spaces in Michael's or Kris's email address.

• Bonus Suggestions
  1) Every 3 years, conduct a check of the health services and prices available in your area. Why pay more than you have to? And remember... always check with your state's DOI before purchasing insurance from a company - off or on-line.
  
  2) Once you find a company or two you might want to go with, check for complaints online http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS239US239&q=health+insurance+complaints

©2007 Maria Marsala, former Wall Street Fortune 200 executive, business strategist, author and speaker. As founder of Elevating Your Business, Maria helps business owners and independent service professionals work smarter and earn more. Learn more and receive free business tools at ElevatingYourBusiness.com

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