Health Insurance

[whyamihere]

How do escorts resolve the conundrum of health insurance coverage - if at all?

[Kevin Slater]

Self-employed folk of all stripes usually have to purchase their own health insurance. A simple google search for "self-employed health insurance" gives a myriad of options.

 

Self-employed health insurance premiums are tax deductible, too, whether or not the filer itemizes.

 

Kevin Slater

[jawjateck]

Yep....Kevin said it. I am a self-employed professional, and my health care situation is no different than any of our esteemed escorts. Although....last year I made a significant change. After carrying an individual policy for well over 10 years, I grew exasperated by the skyrocketing premiums, rising deductibles, and decreasing coverage, so in frustration, I dropped my policy. I have now joined the ranks of the uninsured, although really I am self-insured. I have a well-funded health savings account to pay medical expenses, but all it would take is one lengthy hospital stay/surgery, and that account would be drained. And now since I canceled my high-deductible policy, I can no longer make contributions to the HSA. I am taking a chance, but I am not worried. I just grew tired of being one of the healthy guys in the pool paying the premiums for the sick. There is absolutely no incentive for healthy living as far as the insurance companies are concerned......

[instudiocity]

Yep....Kevin said it. I am a self-employed professional, and my health care situation is no different than any of our esteemed escorts. Although....last year I made a significant change. After carrying an individual policy for well over 10 years, I grew exasperated by the skyrocketing premiums, rising deductibles, and decreasing coverage, so in frustration, I dropped my policy. I have now joined the ranks of the uninsured, although really I am self-insured. I have a well-funded health savings account to pay medical expenses, but all it would take is one lengthy hospital stay/surgery, and that account would be drained. And now since I canceled my high-deductible policy, I can no longer make contributions to the HSA. I am taking a chance, but I am not worried. I just grew tired of being one of the healthy guys in the pool paying the premiums for the sick. There is absolutely no incentive for healthy living as far as the insurance companies are concerned......

Health insurance companies routinely issue new policy forms that only 'healthy' individuals can be underwritten to be included. As the older policy form matures, the only ones who stay in the ever-increasing policy form are those who cannot pass the underwriting for the new form. Healthy individuals can jump to the newer forms. So the law of adverse selection is in effect. The sickest ones remain in the ever more expensive policy form.

 

One other note, as you age, your base premium rises to what the insurance underwriters assume will be the expense of insuring your ever aging butt. But the whole purpose of insurance is to offset the risk of catastrophes by paying a little toward those others encounter.

[hornytwells]

Jawjateck, you know there is a relatively cheap insurance policy that covers hospitalisation only-might be worth looking into?

[Rod Hagen]

Hope this helps some of you.

http://taxes.about.com/od/deductionscredits/qt/healthinsurance.htm

[Kevin Slater]

http://taxes.about.com/od/deductionscredits/qt/healthinsurance.htm

 

Thanks for posting. For me, the important take-away from this was that in 2010 only, self-employed health insurance premiums are deductible from both income tax (as always) but also from self-employment tax (i.e. social security and medicare). Previously, one had to pay that 15.3% tax on funds going to pay these premiums. Here's hoping congress extends this tax break to 2011 and beyond!

 

Kevin Slater

[Mark Gordon]

How do escorts resolve the conundrum of health insurance coverage?

 

By living in Canada.

[EZEtoGRU]

By living in Canada.

 

Too true Mark. Incredible that here in the USA, we consider ourselves to be "advanced", yet there is no universal health or national health care program for citizens. We will get there eventually.....then we can consider ourselves as advanced as Canada, the EU, and other nations.

[Decatur Guy]

Yep....Kevin said it. I am a self-employed professional, and my health care situation is no different than any of our esteemed escorts. Although....last year I made a significant change. After carrying an individual policy for well over 10 years, I grew exasperated by the skyrocketing premiums, rising deductibles, and decreasing coverage, so in frustration, I dropped my policy. I have now joined the ranks of the uninsured, although really I am self-insured. I have a well-funded health savings account to pay medical expenses, but all it would take is one lengthy hospital stay/surgery, and that account would be drained. And now since I canceled my high-deductible policy, I can no longer make contributions to the HSA. I am taking a chance, but I am not worried. I just grew tired of being one of the healthy guys in the pool paying the premiums for the sick. There is absolutely no incentive for healthy living as far as the insurance companies are concerned......

 

I hope you consider a lower-cost catastrophic coverage plan.

[jawjateck]

Nope....not me.....like I said, I am not worried about health care or insurance. For others, I get it and understand, but I have no family to support, and I have no inheritance to protect. In fact, I am giving the balance of my estate to charity, first in life, and the remainder, upon my death. And if the unthinkable happens, and I am struck with grave illness, I plan to take reasonable medical care into account, but I will never go through extreme measures to preserve my life. I guess I can join the millions of others who file for medicaid/indigent care and be put away in a nursing home. So be it....I'm not afraid of that possible outcome....

[rollingrock]

it's sad. we are the only advanced nation where this is even an issue, having to deal with shitty private companies that charge insane premiums and then deny you care when you need it, people having to deplete their savings when they get sick or go into insane debt. every other country has figured this out but we had to practically have a civil war to get the band aid partial solution of HCR last year. It was too late for my friend who died 3 weeks ago with horrible care because she couldn't afford insurance but her disability payments were $10 too much to qualify for medicaid. Sorry to rant, this just hits a nerve.

[instudiocity]

Too true Mark. Incredible that here in the USA, we consider ourselves to be "advanced", yet there is no universal health or national health care program for citizens. We will get there eventually.....then we can consider ourselves as advanced as Canada, the EU, and other nations.

Some would argue that we are advanced not for our welfare state but for our freedoms of self-determination.

[EZEtoGRU]

Some would argue that we are advanced not for our welfare state but for our freedoms of self-determination.

 

True. Some will think that in general terms, but probably fewer believe that as it relates specifically to health care. I would guess very few people outside the US admire us for how health care is provided in the US. I would guess a great majority of folks from Canada or the UK would not trade their system for ours, given the opportunity. Anyway, probably a topic for another forum.

[KMEM]

I have had friends in countries with "included" medical care remark somewhat sarcastically that the US has an MRI in every Walgreen's but I also have to think they were a bit envious.

 

Once, while in NZ, I went to see an independent doctor. As I recall the office visit cost me about $15 NZD (about 9 USD) at the time. That was not the co-pay but the full charge. The Rx was also about 3.60 USD for a generic type prescription. I have no idea what it would have been like to have to go to a hospital or have some treatment not available in an office visit but I do believe such treatments were available. I have had friends there tell me they can have such and such treatment done now for X dollars or wait months for "free" treatment. Of course, I call free treatment, included with your taxes treatment.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[nate_sf]

I have a day job that provides a contribution towards insurance. I have to pay some of the premium myself, but it is a group policy so is cheaper and offers better coverage than when I had my own stand-alone policy.

 

I used to have a PPO that provided lots of choice in providers but did not cover things like lab tests. When I got back into escorting a while back I had a physical to make sure I was in good shape, and did the full battery of lab tests. The PPO did not cover the labs, and the cost of those tests nearly killed me. I had to pay the hospital $100 monthly installments for a full year to pay it off. Fortunately they did not charge interest; this seems to be a common occurence so they were ready with their installment plan. I've since switched to an HMO which covers pretty much everything including labs but offers less choice in providers.

 

I have a few friends (non-escorts) who maintain low-skill service jobs that offer health insurance, specifically so they can get the health insurance. I'm not sure how the numbers work or if it is more of a rationalization, but there is a notion of "getting a job at Starbuck's (or Whole Foods or wherever) for the benefits."