Ask HN: Personal Health Insurance for Software Consultants | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Personal Health Insurance for Software Consultants

8 pointsjoshontheweb5 comments

I'm tired of bouncing in and out of health coverage when I leave companies and move around. Can anyone recommend a good, affordable personal health plan that makes sense for the wandering hacker lifestyle? Are there any progressive, forward thinking startups addressing this niche?

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The short answer is that one probably doesn't exist. Health insurance is largely done on a state by state basis. There are good reasons for this. Mainly, the biggest benefit of any health insurance plan is not the insurance itself but the negotiated discount for in-network care. You get this discount even with the cheapest high deductible plan. Also, for major procedures and extended hospitalizations the insurance company workds closely with the health providers and it helps to be local. And going with the cheapest provider usually means cheap customer service as well.

People like to be critical of health insurance companies and I'm sure it is well deserved in some cases but when my daughter was in the NICU for a week after she was born the health insurance company was the most efficient and helpful part of the process. And it ended up costing me several thousand dollars less than I thought it would.

Here's the only way I could think of to make a larger plan work. Work with the existing health insurance companies to get to use their networks and their claims processing. Pay them a percentage. They may just work with you since there is no risk to them, the multi-state company is the one paying the claims.

Of course, the capital required to start an insurance company is immense. I personally would never trust my claims to a small startup.

I am a wandering hacker, as you describe. Many years ago I joined the Air National Guard (part time -- one weekend a month, two weeks a year). They offer a very good health insurance program for less than $60/month. You read that right! It's pretty unbelievable, and is one of the reasons I stay in. It is subsidized by the taxpayer, of course, so I really do thank all of you. Some people say that not many doctors accept the plan (called Tricare), but I live near a university hospital, and I've had no trouble at all with them taking it. Physical therapists took it, too. The cost for a family is around $250/month, and the dental plan is $12/month.

The Guard is now getting into cyber work. I am not part of that, but you might want to check it out. The Guard has been one of the best things I've ever done. I have made great friends, and it's never really interfered with my civilian career.

hmmm, interesting. What kind of commitments do you have to make?

The steady state commitment is "one weekend a month, two weeks a year." There are, however, boundary value and perturbation exceptions, i.e.: (1) At the beginning of your service, you will have to go to either basic training or officer training school. For heaven's sake, be an officer: pay is better and life is better. This school is several weeks long, and is full time. (2) If there is a national or local emergency, you could be on the hook to be asked or ordered to serve. In my experience, this occurs about once every 10 years. Balancing these demands on your time, however, are: (a) When times are lean in the civilian world, you can usually find openings to get put on orders and get some income, (b) I have made fantastic lifelong friends in the Guard, which rarely happens in the civilian workplace, (c) a great pension plan if you stay in 20 years. There are Guard recruiters in every town. If I were you, I'd look at cyber opportunities. It is one of the few areas in the military where spending is going to go up.

Health Insurance (in the US) requires significantly more capital than a startup is ever likely to acquire. In addition, large financial reserves must be maintained - most of the cash cannot be converted to rocket fuel.

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