small biz health insurance cost?

September 8, 2011 4:25 PM

Small Biz people: what do you pay in health insurance if you have insurance that you buy on your own?

Working toward starting my biz. 31 YO healthy male. Would go on my wife's company's insurance if possible, but if that doesn't happen, I'm interested in getting some ideas of what it will cost a month to just go out and get insurance for my wife and I (she is 30, healthy, no conditions). We'll have babies eventually, too. Anyway, i know everyone is different, but can any of you small biz owners, sole proprietors etc give me a ballpark of what you pay each month for coverage, and what kind of coverage you get? Thanks!

posted by Salvatorparadise to health & fitness (10 answers total)

i pay about 675 per month for insurance for a family of four. blue cross with a 2500 deductible.
posted by lester at 4:38 PM on September 8, 2011

Your wording makes it sound like you're looking for a small-business healthcare plan. Is this correct? I'm pretty sure you will need to have a minimum number of employees (maybe 5?) in order to qualify for a small business policy. If it's just you and your wife (and potential future kids), most insurers that I'm familiar with will write you a family plan.

FWIW, I am self-employed and we buy our own family plan. Right now, it's costing just north of $1,200/month. It started out at around $700/month and escalated every year. This is in Indiana.

If you can get on your wife's employer-provided plan, do it. Even if you have to foot part of the cost, it'll be cheaper than buying your own plan.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:39 PM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Not self-employed, but I don't get benefits at my work. My insurance, Providence, would be at $214 if I were 31 with $2500 deductible. Same plan is $427 for two adults and $656 for family. $20 copays for normal visit, $20 urgent care, $250 ER, $10 prescriptions, $0 preventative and physicals, 10% coinsurance to $7500.

I'm only meh on them as insurance as they've fought with me on some claims that they claimed were emergent when they were urgent and tried to stick me with $100-200 bills. Also, they jacked up rates 10% year-to-year, and I'm expecting that again this year.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:52 PM on September 8, 2011

Does your state have a public insurance plan? The information on costs should be publicly available so you don't have to ask strangers on the internet.
posted by matildaben at 4:57 PM on September 8, 2011

i'll look matilda. the people here in Ohio at the state are strangers, too, btw!
posted by Salvatorparadise at 5:06 PM on September 8, 2011

A previous employer of mine had small business coverage (basic medical and dental) through Guardian for himself (gap coverage with his medicare), his daughter, and two employees. It ran him about $1750 a month.
posted by phunniemee at 5:07 PM on September 8, 2011

Self-employed, New York State, $467 for a BCBS HMO plan with a high deductible and no prescription coverage for two adults. This is through Healthy NY, so we only qualify because our income is below a certain threshold.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:15 PM on September 8, 2011

Assuming you're in the U.S., the costs are going to vary WIDELY based on your state. Some states allow your individual age, sex and health to count, and have minimal mandates. Others prohibit gendered ratings and only allow you to be included in a broad age band, and require coverage of a broad range of conditions on any plan. Non-regulatory factors also influence rate, such as regional cost variation, competition, etc.

Beyond the specifics of your jurisdiction, your rate will also vary depending on how many extras you opt for, whether you get prescriptions, whether you go with a PPO or an HMO, the amount of your co-pay and the size of your deductible.

As a business owner, if it's allowed where you live, you may be able to join a business association and buy into a group plan, which would also affect the options available to you.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 6:47 PM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

31 year old, Healthy Male... Just opted out of my company's health care plan of $365 per month (1/2 paid by my work, so actually 700 per month) for just myself and went with BC/BS of VA for a similar plan but added both of my young children on it (4 and 1 year old), all for $211 a month (2500 deductible but frequent doctor visits, ok, etc) out of pocket.

At the end of the day, you need to consider the age of the other people in the potential plan as well... you might be better to get your own (or let them)...
posted by priested at 7:12 PM on September 8, 2011

What croutonsupafreak said.

What we each pay is pretty useless as comparison info, especially when not accompanied by a detailed breakdown of each's coverage. From my insurer alone, there are over a dozen plans I was eligible for; with premiums spanning less than $100/mo to well over $1k/mo. The devil is in the details.

Call an insurance broker. They can give ballparks in minutes over the phone, that will based on what you'd need pay for the kind of coverage you require.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 4:27 PM on September 9, 2011