

Ask HN: Personal Health Insurance for Software Consultants - joshontheweb

I'm tired of bouncing in and out of health coverage when I leave companies and move around.  Can anyone recommend a good, affordable personal health plan that makes sense for the wandering hacker lifestyle?  Are there any progressive, forward thinking startups addressing this niche?
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thejteam
The short answer is that one probably doesn't exist. Health insurance is
largely done on a state by state basis. There are good reasons for this.
Mainly, the biggest benefit of any health insurance plan is not the insurance
itself but the negotiated discount for in-network care. You get this discount
even with the cheapest high deductible plan. Also, for major procedures and
extended hospitalizations the insurance company workds closely with the health
providers and it helps to be local. And going with the cheapest provider
usually means cheap customer service as well.

People like to be critical of health insurance companies and I'm sure it is
well deserved in some cases but when my daughter was in the NICU for a week
after she was born the health insurance company was the most efficient and
helpful part of the process. And it ended up costing me several thousand
dollars less than I thought it would.

Here's the only way I could think of to make a larger plan work. Work with the
existing health insurance companies to get to use their networks and their
claims processing. Pay them a percentage. They may just work with you since
there is no risk to them, the multi-state company is the one paying the
claims.

Of course, the capital required to start an insurance company is immense. I
personally would never trust my claims to a small startup.

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maj0r
I am a wandering hacker, as you describe. Many years ago I joined the Air
National Guard (part time -- one weekend a month, two weeks a year). They
offer a very good health insurance program for less than $60/month. You read
that right! It's pretty unbelievable, and is one of the reasons I stay in. It
is subsidized by the taxpayer, of course, so I really do thank all of you.
Some people say that not many doctors accept the plan (called Tricare), but I
live near a university hospital, and I've had no trouble at all with them
taking it. Physical therapists took it, too. The cost for a family is around
$250/month, and the dental plan is $12/month.

The Guard is now getting into cyber work. I am not part of that, but you might
want to check it out. The Guard has been one of the best things I've ever
done. I have made great friends, and it's never really interfered with my
civilian career.

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joshontheweb
hmmm, interesting. What kind of commitments do you have to make?

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treehouse87
The steady state commitment is "one weekend a month, two weeks a year." There
are, however, boundary value and perturbation exceptions, i.e.: (1) At the
beginning of your service, you will have to go to either basic training or
officer training school. For heaven's sake, be an officer: pay is better and
life is better. This school is several weeks long, and is full time. (2) If
there is a national or local emergency, you could be on the hook to be asked
or ordered to serve. In my experience, this occurs about once every 10 years.
Balancing these demands on your time, however, are: (a) When times are lean in
the civilian world, you can usually find openings to get put on orders and get
some income, (b) I have made fantastic lifelong friends in the Guard, which
rarely happens in the civilian workplace, (c) a great pension plan if you stay
in 20 years. There are Guard recruiters in every town. If I were you, I'd look
at cyber opportunities. It is one of the few areas in the military where
spending is going to go up.

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brudgers
Health Insurance (in the US) requires significantly more capital than a
startup is ever likely to acquire. In addition, large financial reserves must
be maintained - most of the cash cannot be converted to rocket fuel.

