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This entire class of problem obviously doesn't exist in Canada. Never had to even think about this in the 5 years we build our company. How much mental bandwid
by xal 16y ago
This entire class of problem obviously doesn't exist in Canada. Never had to even think about this in the 5 years we build our company.
How much mental bandwidth of creating a startup goes into these things?
- run4yourlives 16y agoOf course it exists. If it didn't, I wouldn't have a job. It's just a hell of a lot cheaper a problem to deal with up here.
- brlewis 16y agoProbably a lot. It also adds to the reasons why people with kids don't start startups, unless they can get health insurance through a spouse.
- mrkurt 16y agoIt's a one time bit of mental bandwidth. The amount of bandwidth is less important than the disincentive for starting a company/going it alone. Health care expense are a big deal, they fall between mortgage and food for my family. It's just another thing I get to worry about when I think about employment.
- abstractbill 16y agoIt's a one time bit of mental bandwidth. Actually in my experience it's been more like once per year, since health insurance companies tend to change their plans that often. The amount of bandwidth is less important than the disincentive for starting a company/going it alone. Yes, I couldn't agree more.
- mrkurt 16y agoYeah, the yearly plan changes are true enough. I bet your overall "strategy" doesn't change that often, though, unless that sort of plan gets expensive enough to be untenable. It's still a pain in the ass, though.
- chaosmachine 16y ago"This entire class of problem obviously doesn't exist in Canada." Unless you need to go to a dentist.
- eli 16y agoI don't quite see your point. How many early-stage US startups offer dental? Surely it's cheaper and easier to buy just dental coverage in CA than medical+dental in US.
- thaumaturgy 16y agoWhat a stunningly perfect example of a red herring.
- jrockway 16y agoSame problem in the US -- small group and individual insurance just doesn't cover dental work. But dental work isn't really that expensive, at least not compared to medical work. Budget $300/yr for your two checkups, and you will be fine. (Even a root canal is not that expensive. I think it was $1200 for a specialist to do it.)
- chaosmachine 16y agoIt's about $1800 here in Canada. I found out the hard way there are many things you still have to pay for yourself. For example, a doctor prescribed me Advair for asthma-like symptoms I was experiencing. It costs $200 per unit, and as someone who recently quit their day job to start my own business, it wasn't in the budget. So I just went without.
- mrkurt 16y agoGood doctors respond pretty well to your budget constraints. There's likely another option for you, you should ask. It may not be quite as effective, but I bet it's much, much cheaper. Or, you could buy from an evil Canadian pharmacy that sources generics from some place like India. We spent two years doing that for my wife's Singulair, it saved us a fortune.
- kgrin 16y agoI've said it before and I'll say it again - living in Massachusetts made it considerably easier to start a company (for context, the national HCR plan that just passed is a slightly modified, scaled-up version of what MA has had for a few years).
- icey 16y agoThere's no reason for someone to spend a lot of time trying to figure this out. Go to google and search for "health insurance broker". Find someone near you and call them. Let them do the hard work. They have the incentive to find a plan for you that you'll keep for a long time since they get paid commission only for the months that you keep insurance. They'd much rather you get a plan you're happy with than try to screw you over by getting you to buy a plan that's too large.
- InclinedPlane 16y agoThis explains why there are so many more startups in Canada than the US......