
Contract workers in the US – what are you doing for health insurance? - vkuruthers
I&#x27;m a senior engineer and would like to return to doing contract work.  The wife is worried about health insurance options however (options could be too limited, too expensive etc.)<p>So what are the successful contractors on this site using for health insurance?  Is Obamacare a long term system now, or could it be scrapped if the Republicans get in?<p>Thanks for any info.
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PaulHoule
Obamacare is not that bad.

Obamacare rates are not far from what a private employer with a moderate
number of employees would pay, and if your income is low in a particular year,
the subsidies can get you to where you are paying $20 a month or so. If your
income is unpredictable you get the subsidy first and can then pay the
difference when you have the money.

The only plans that make sense to get on an Obamacare exchange are the
"bronze" high deductable plans. If you look at the difference between those
and the lower deductable plans the difference is pretty much the amount of the
difference in the deductable, which is what you expect from adverse selection
theory.

If you are having a good year in terms of money, make sure to fully fund a
Health Savings Account because that has the same tax benefits as an IRA, you
can spend the money like IRA money when you retire, plus you can use it to pay
your health care expenditures NOW.

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vkuruthers
Thanks for the response. If the Republicans get in can they scrap Obamacare?
Don't want to make a big life change assuming it'll be there only to have it
disappear shortly.

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hourislate
If you are generally in good health then you might want to consider
catastrophic insurance. Something that would cover you in the event you were
in a car accident or suffered a heart attack etc.

A doctors visit for things like a sore throat or flu is around $30 bucks.
Typically that might be a co-pay so it's a wash. What most folks want/need is
to be protected if something crazy happens and that's where a catastrophic
insurance plan can help.

It's typically less expensive than a full blown medical plan. Last time I had
one was about 8 years ago and if I remember correctly it was around $1200 a
year and covered me for any emergencies up to 250k or something like that.

I can't comment on Obamacare.

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vkuruthers
Sounds good for some situations. I have to take a few perscriptions per day,
so I'm assuming they wouldn't be covered? That could be the dealbreaker.

