Many people worry today about not having health insurance. If you
are self-employed, you may find health insurance expensive, yet without
it, a single illness could ruin your finances. Small business owners
need to think about coverage for their employees, but again, this can
be expensive. Group health insurance offers great benefits to those who
think they cannot afford health insurance otherwise. Group health
insurance is also occasionally offered through social groups and
organizations.
Group
health insurance is often lower in price because it covers a group of
people. For example, if you are a small business owner with ten
employees, they can all be in a group health insurance policy. The
insurance companies offer this type of policy because it profits them
by having more people on their plans. One benefit of group health
insurance is there is no need for a physical exam or for you to fill
out a health history questionnaire. A drawback to group health
insurance is that you may not have a say so in what type of policy you
have (HMO or PPO). This means you may or may not be able to see the
doctor of your choice. You may be given a list of doctor’s whom you may
visit under this particular insurance plane.
Even if
you are self-employed, you can still be part of a group health
insurance plan. In many states, the term “group” has been defined as
“groups of one,” so even those who are self-employed may qualify. To
find out if your state offers group health insurance to those that are
self-employed with no other employees, contact your state insurance
commissioner’s office. If it turns out you are not eligible, check to
see if you can be covered under the insurance policy of your spouse.
While this may be more costly than having your own group insurance
policy, it will no doubt be cheaper than purchasing insurance coverage
yourself.