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Self-Employed Affordable Health Care

Being self-employed means you don't have a company to provide you benefits on top of your salary. You have to earn enough to live on and to pay for any benefits like health insurance. Also, without a group discount, your premiums are higher than they would be at a company with a large number of employees. Finding affordable insurance means you have to become a savvy shopper.

  1. Group Health

    • While you don't have the benefit of lower premiums from working at a company, you can still get lower premiums through a group health plan. Join a trade organization specific to your business, or even a business group like a chamber of commerce or the National Association for the Self-Employed. These organizations offer health insurance to their members at a rate that will generally be cheaper than if you tried to buy coverage individually.

    Prescriptions

    • Look for free prescription discount programs that exist in many communities. Programs like the one offered by the National Association for the Self-Employed are accepted at over 59,000 pharmacies across the country, according to its website. These programs save you an average of 20 percent on your prescriptions. Another option for saving money on prescriptions is to order them through the mail. Mail-order prescription companies like Express Scripts can save you around 33 percent on your long-term prescriptions.

    Vision Care

    • Vision care is a type of health insurance. While eye exams aren't too costly, you should still shop around. Chain centers like LensCrafters and Pearle Vision generally offer the best prices. If you need to purchase glasses, the best thing to do is look for sales at the vision centers, if you can wait to make your purchase.

    Dental Care

    • To keep your teeth healthy, try to join a dental insurance program through a larger group such as a professional association. Organizations like the National Association for the Self-Employed offer dental coverage as a benefit to their members. For a minimum monthly cost, you can visit a dentist who accepts the group insurance plan. Just make sure to check with your dentist to see if she accepts the insurance. While a local company will offer insurance that is accepted locally, a national company's dental insurance plan may not be accepted in your area. A good basic insurance plan should cover your routine visits and cleanings.

    Health Savings Accounts

    • Set up a health savings account to pay for your health-related expenses. An HSA allows you to make tax-deductible contributions to an account that's specifically for health costs. If you don't use all of the money you contribute in a given year, you can roll it over to the next year. Any unused funds in the account can be used as retirement income once you turn 65. You can consult a financial planner to set up an account or join an organization that offers it as a benefit to its members, like the National Association for the Self-Employed.

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