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Health Insurance for the Independent Contractor

Clawrence

New Member
Just a logistical question. For those of you that are full time composing and head of household providing for family...what are you doing for health insurance?

Who with? Approx cost per person?

Have a 5 year plan to transition into full time composing but the big gap in my scheme is health insurance for a family of four. Currently this is covered by my employer and I have never had to deal with it on an independent contractor level.
 
I assume you are in US? If so, I’m afraid no good news here.

I have been an independent contractor since 1997 and insurance is the most expensive ever. For my wife and I, this year was $700/month for Obamacare.

However, in 2019 the individual mandate is no longer required (thanks, Trump) so we chose to get a ‘catastrophic’ policy - basically coverage for emergency only - for about $240 / month.

Good luck!
 
i also have the catastrophic insurance.. or whatever its called... its basically short term insurance and doesnt follow ACA rules. so no rehab or psychology.. no pregnancy stuff and you can be denied for pre-existing conditions. about the same price as marcs. my wife is on her employers. there are several companies oferring this short term. but wont work for your kid.

overall, health in the US is such a clusterfuck. not only is the insurance bad overall, and insurance companies a mess but hospitals try to milk the system to pay for their stuff so one aspirin for $25 and that sort stupid stuff. plus you have to fill in the same form like 3 times and tell it to the doc. dumb.
i i had to take my 2yr old to emergency cuz he coudnt breath... doc stepped in for 2 minutes.. said it was croupe, gave us a steroid vapor inhaler and left. after a bit he left my kid was fine. bill came it was $6000. most of the insurance was already paid. (!). so it sucks because even w insurance now i have to double think this stuff in emergency situations when i really shoudlnt.

i started going to urgent care nearby for anything i need. i pay $150 every time i go and they attend most issues if not very serious. and thats way less than my co pay and deductible to visit the doc for routine stuff.

most employer insurance is rubust enough but for ACA to kick in youll have proove you have less income via taxes and other stuff. and at the time i didnt qualified so i had to pay about $550 a month for a while for just myself. and still my deductible was about $2000.

so sorry for the bad news but insurance will be a huuuuge expense in your road as a composer.
 
overall, health in the US is such a clusterfuck. not only is the insurance bad overall, and insurance companies a mess but hospitals try to milk the system to pay for their stuff so one aspirin for $25 and that sort stupid stuff. plus you have to fill in the same form like 3 times and tell it to the doc. dumb.
i i had to take my 2yr old to emergency cuz he coudnt breath... doc stepped in for 2 minutes.. said it was croupe, gave us a steroid vapor inhaler and left. after a bit he left my kid was fine. bill came it was $6000. most of the insurance was already paid. (!). so it sucks because even w insurance now i have to double think this stuff in emergency situations when i really shoudlnt.

That is simply unacceptable, it's hard to believe that in a country as bountiful as the US, that this is the state of healthcare.

Fortunately in Canada, even as a composer (or any self-employed or even unemployed), all that stuff is covered....even major surgeries.
 
That is simply unacceptable, it's hard to believe that in a country as bountiful as the US, that this is the state of healthcare.

Fortunately in Canada, even as a composer (or any self-employed or even unemployed), all that stuff is covered....even major surgeries.


here in the US this healtcare issue gets polarized and if you are crazy libreral libtard democrat then those poeple will see as canada as the proper way to do things and EU this and canada that.
if you are a crazy trumpeter, redneck, maga wearing, republican then those poeple will see it a socialst failed state and those things no one talks about socialism and how bad it really is and mention that in canada its not perfect and all sort of issues regarding that system and that it costs too much money for the us or that odumbo caused and its his fault.
there is no middle ground. gets too politized. when i think most poeple, like me, just want it to work and not have to double think taking a kid to the hospital and worry about the bill when there is already insurance. or that anyone with an issue can be treated. its a complex issue that everyone think they know about and think a few twitter comments will encompass the solution.
 
here in the US this healtcare issue gets polarized and if you are crazy libreral libtard democrat then those poeple will see as canada as the proper way to do things and EU this and canada that.
if you are a crazy trumpeter, redneck, maga wearing, republican then those poeple will see it a socialst failed state and those things no one talks about socialism and how bad it really is and mention that in canada its not perfect and all sort of issues regarding that system and that it costs too much money for the us or that odumbo caused and its his fault.
there is no middle ground. gets too politized. when i think most poeple, like me, just want it to work and not have to double think taking a kid to the hospital and worry about the bill when there is already insurance. or that anyone with an issue can be treated. its a complex issue that everyone think they know about and think a few twitter comments will encompass the solution.

Exactly, gsilbers. I can’t have a constructive conversation about healthcare with anyone in the US.

I went from $65 to $700 a month (ins premium) but if I say, “This ‘affordable healthcare’ thing just isn’t working”, my liberal friends just write me off as a right-winger. So much for independent thinking.

Most sensible people just want something that works.

PS - I voted for Obama in 2008. Haven’t voted since. The healthcare debacle was the last straw for me.
 
here in the US this healtcare issue gets polarized and if you are crazy libreral libtard democrat then those poeple will see as canada as the proper way to do things and EU this and canada that.
if you are a crazy trumpeter, redneck, maga wearing, republican then those poeple will see it a socialst failed state and those things no one talks about socialism and how bad it really is and mention that in canada its not perfect and all sort of issues regarding that system and that it costs too much money for the us or that odumbo caused and its his fault.
there is no middle ground. gets too politized. when i think most poeple, like me, just want it to work and not have to double think taking a kid to the hospital and worry about the bill when there is already insurance. or that anyone with an issue can be treated. its a complex issue that everyone think they know about and think a few twitter comments will encompass the solution.
It's not a complex issue. In the USA, health care is a simple problem that requires a simple solution, and there is most certainly no such thing as a "middle ground".

Public single-payer, universal coverage paid for from redsitributed tax revenue is the solution. Health care as a for-profit, entrepreneurial activity needs to be abolished and any of its institutions that exist for the benefit of stockholders need to be dismantled. The current system is nothing less than organized crime. Obamacare was a complete sham because it protected the capital interests of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries under the guise of "reform" that did literally nothing to address the underlying, core problem.

Affecting the solution will not be easy, and perhaps will not even be possible given the plutocratic nature of the system and the powerful status that these large corporate entities currently enjoy. But the problem is not complicated, and can be easily summarized within the confines of a single Twitter post.
 
It's not a complex issue. In the USA, health care is a simple problem that requires a simple solution, and there is most certainly no such thing as a "middle ground".

Public single-payer, universal coverage paid for from redsitributed tax revenue is the solution. Health care as a for-profit, entrepreneurial activity needs to be abolished and any of its institutions that exist for the benefit of stockholders need to be dismantled. The current system is nothing less than organized crime. Obamacare was a complete sham because it protected the capital interests of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries under the guise of "reform" that did literally nothing to address the underlying, core problem.

Affecting the solution will not be easy, and perhaps will not even be possible given the plutocratic nature of the system and the powerful status that these large corporate entities currently enjoy. But the problem is not complicated, and can be easily summarized within the confines of a single Twitter post.

Case in point, here... "health care is a simple problem"

Mike, please move this thread into the drama zone. We Americans cannot talk about healthcare in an intelligent way so we deserve banishment into the cornfield.
 
Case in point, here... "health care is a simple problem"

Mike, please move this thread into the drama zone. We Americans cannot talk about healthcare in an intelligent way so we deserve banishment into the cornfield.
Of course it's a political issue, and it should go to the so-called political forums. But one can't bring up health care as a thread topic and avoid this, at least not in the US.

I just gave you a concise, accurate and comprehensive summary of the situation, and if you're going to counter that my comments were "not intelligent" is it too much to ask that you say something specific as to why you think so?
 
Health care as a for-profit, entrepreneurial activity needs to be abolished and any of its institutions that exist for the benefit of stockholders need to be dismantled.

This^

I'm confident there are cures to all sorts of ailments (cancers, etc), but the pharmaceutical giants and insurance companies are making billions off of the citizens.
 
The OP did not ask how to fix the US healthcare system. If we can limit the responses to those that address the original question then this can be a helpful thread for many and remain in the Industry subforum.
 
The OP did not ask how to fix the US healthcare system. If we can limit the responses to those that address the original question then this can be a helpful thread for many and remain in the Industry subforum.
True enough. But the OP did not say where he or she lives, and any practically helpful responses would have to be specific to the country of residence. In approx. 50% of the world (and in the entire developed world with the singular exception of the US) the question wouldn't be necessary.

I do have a friend in the US who continuously takes a minimum number of college courses so that both she and her husband can be eligible for a university-sponsored health care plan. They did the arithmetic and determined that the costs of the tuition & books for the plan they receive is a better deal than taking out private insurance as a self-employed person.

There are no doubt any number of strategies along those lines that could be explored...
 
There are no doubt any number of strategies along those lines that could be explored...

Yes, but that's not what OP asked...

"For those of you that are full time composing and head of household providing for family...what are you doing for health insurance?"

If you want to debate how things are in the US versus everywhere else, please start a new topic in the drama forum.
 
There aren't any good solutions at this time, sorry to say. My costs have also gone through the roof in the years since obamacare and I've looked at everything.
 
Sorry have been working hard. In the US. Los Angeles California. And it appears my fears are realized. No real solution and a huge chunk of money for a family of 4. I was hoping maybe there was a program or organization through ASCAP or BMI....some type of guild help. But looks like all of us in the US need to start this on our own. VI insurance. Anybody in?
 
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