

Ask HN: How do you do your health insurance in your startup? - matttah

My start up is about 1 year old now, and my partner and I are graduating this year, so we need to get our own health insurance.  We currently only need health insurance for both of us.<p>We're debating getting corporate health insurance via the company or both just getting our individual plans.  We both have relatively the same health needs(just major accident coverage).  What do you do for yourself: corporate or individual coverage?
======
tptacek
Rehash of my answer from that thread:

* Get high-deductable, low-premium insurance --- make sure it's a plan that qualifies for an HSA. You want to be paying low hundred(s) every month, but also essentially paying out of pocket for your doctor's visits.

* If you have a bunch of people on your team, get group coverage. The major win for group coverage isn't cost (you may actually pay a little more), but that everyone on your team gets covered regardless of preexisting conditions. On your own, you can get flat-out turned down for relatively minor problems.

* Ours is Oxford/United (Oxford if you're in Manhattan, United everywhere else --- Chicago, in our case). I'm not a fan, but it works.

* Carrying insurance has been a major hiring win for us. Again, there are A-players that _can't_ effectively cover themselves, because of innocuous but disqualifying health records.

~~~
biotech
_Carrying insurance has been a major hiring win for us._

I agree; it is much easier to take a job with a small company knowing that the
health insurance situation is secure. For many, the two most important things
about a job (other than the work itself) is the compensation (salary/equity)
and health insurance. Especially if the potential employee has a family.

You could conceivably risk scaring away a great employee due to problems with
health insurance. Well, at least here in the USA.

------
dwynings
HN Archive of Health Insurance Topics
[http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive#t...](http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive#toc6)

------
oldgregg
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=560169>

------
BigCanOfTuna
As a Canadian, health insurance isn't an issue. However, it doesn't cover
prescription drugs or permanent/long term disability....the latter being the
most important. Also, make sure the insurance covers your current occupation
appropriately. "Works with computers" might mean your claim is denied because
you could still do data entry at 8 bucks an hour...even though 8 of your
fingers have been severed.

------
aquaphile
Unless you have >10 employees that _will_ _participate_ in any group coverage
plan, you only have one option: pay the employees a little extra to cover the
premiums on their own personal health insurance plans. The other benefit of
each employee buying their own plan is that the health insurance is no longer
tied to their employment with a specific company.

------
biotech
It's probably a good idea to start with the individual/high deductible plans
while the company is still young, especially if you're both healthy. As you
expand and take on a few more employees, you'll probably want to start looking
at group coverage.

------
grinich
I'd be very interested in hearing about things like this as well. Anybody know
of a handbook-style resource for hackers doing startups? pg's essays are
pretty close, but I'm looking for something more concrete.

------
comster
we dont =(

