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I posted a ASK HN[1] a few days ago related to signing up for health care through CoveredCA as a single bootstrapped founder. If you're self employed and make

I posted a ASK HN[1] a few days ago related to signing up for health care through CoveredCA as a single bootstrapped founder. If you're self employed and make over $50,000 a year no matter where in California you live, you'll have to pay full retail premium prices without any discount. My company as a whole makes over 50k a year, but less than 100k a year (still getting off the ground). Thus a monthly premium of $460 a month for a standard decent PPO plan puts a large burden on me. Additionally, if I don't get health coverage I'll have to pay a heavy tax penalty at the end of the year. Essentially as a bootstrapped small business owner, health insurance is a large burden of cost and I was forgotten in the Affordable Care Act. Instead my cost to purchase a plan skyrocketed as I subsidy other people's care. That is not fair, everybody is not paying their fair share. Middle class self employed are the one's who got hurt the most. Finally go compare CoveredCA.com and then go use https://www.blueshieldca.com https://www.blueshieldca.com. CoveredCA literally is one of the worst designed and functioning apps I've ever seen. It constantly errors and doesn't keep state that I am logged in. The UI/UX is terrible. I'm guessing CoveredCA was outsourced to a non-technically competent contractor overseas. Compare that to BlueOfCalifornia which is a great site, beautifully designed, and functions as it should. This is why government can't have nice things. [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13353755 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13353755

skizm 10y ago
Wait, why would they count your company's total revenue as your income? Is there no legal entity between you and your company? (LLC, C-corp, etc.)
- nodesocket 10y ago
  I'm a single founder 100% owner LLC, personal and business income is combined. Plus on CoveregedCA they ask for personal income and self employed income when seeing if you qualify for discounts. Finally, dealing with sending them tax and finance documents to get the discounts would be a huge hassle and I'm almost certain a hair-pulling frustrating experience. By the time that is all done, I'll probably be out of their discount bracket anyway.
  - skizm 10y ago
    If you're spending the money on the business, how can they count it as income? Shouldn't only your salary count as income? (which may very well be 0)
    - nodesocket 10y ago
      As far as I understand, while I can write off deductibles my personal and business income is combined at the end of the year since I am 100% owner of my California LLC thus giving my inflated annual income.
      - drm237 10y ago
        Your total income that you would report on your personal income tax return should be your personal salary plus your business profit for a single member LLC.
        nodesocket 10y ago
        Correct that is it, any personal income plus the business profit.
  - incongruity 10y ago
    Seems like you could fix the business/income side for less than it will cost you in insurance if you don't...
jnwatson 10y ago
$460 a month is a fantastic rate. Between my employer and myself, we pay $1806 a month for my family of 3. My employer has 3000 employees, so it isn't a weird situation with poor purchasing power. Insurance is expensive.
- toomuchtodo 10y ago
  I rescind my gripes about my $1300/month for a family of 3 on an unsubsidized marketplace plan.
  - nodesocket 10y ago
    Wow, both of you are paying a lot, I am sorry. Basically your high premium payments are going to pay for other people's care. Not a fair system. Everybody is not paying their share, middle class is though.
    - drm237 10y ago
      You don't know that. You have no idea what kind of health issues their families face. And yes, sometimes you are just paying for other people's care, right up until the time that you need it. That is, after all, the point of insurance.
    - beat 10y ago
      For years, I paid much more out in insurance than I would ever spend that year. Last year, I had a $35,000 surgery. Heck, I spent so much on medical care last year that I had a "luxury colonoscopy" in December, because I knew I'd hit my out-of-pocket cap for the year. That colonoscopy was $6000, btw. This, for preventative care that could save hundreds of thousands of dollars from colon cancer (and quite possibly my life) down the road. In a well designed system, price controls would put preventative care like colonoscopies below actual cost (and make the money up elsewhere), to save money at the macro level.
    - yequalsx 10y ago
      I make much more than you and pay more in taxes than you. I'm paying more for national defense, police, roads, etc. I'm subsidizing you. Not a fair system.
shams93 10y ago
Yeah I feel your pain I'm in the same problem, in an early stage startup making 80% under market rate, barely making my rent and living off ramen, absolutely can't afford ACA.
- cmurf 10y ago
  Medicaid.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    Even at 80% under market rate living on ramen (presumably, in the Bay Area as a developer), you may be over the income cap for Medicaid. Of course, choosing to accept work for 80% under market rate in a place where the high market rate for labor drives high cost of living is going to have short-term negative economic consequences.
bduerst 10y ago
What I don't get is, what would you do if there wasn't ACA? Not have insurance? If anything happened you'd be in the emergency room and would either pay outrageous amounts magnitudes more than $460/mo, or declare bankruptcy making your hospital debt a burden for everyone else.

skizm 10y ago

Wait, why would they count your company's total revenue as your income? Is there no legal entity between you and your company? (LLC, C-corp, etc.)

nodesocket 10y ago
I'm a single founder 100% owner LLC, personal and business income is combined. Plus on CoveregedCA they ask for personal income and self employed income when seeing if you qualify for discounts. Finally, dealing with sending them tax and finance documents to get the discounts would be a huge hassle and I'm almost certain a hair-pulling frustrating experience. By the time that is all done, I'll probably be out of their discount bracket anyway.
- skizm 10y ago
  If you're spending the money on the business, how can they count it as income? Shouldn't only your salary count as income? (which may very well be 0)
  - nodesocket 10y ago
    As far as I understand, while I can write off deductibles my personal and business income is combined at the end of the year since I am 100% owner of my California LLC thus giving my inflated annual income.
    - drm237 10y ago
      Your total income that you would report on your personal income tax return should be your personal salary plus your business profit for a single member LLC.
      - nodesocket 10y ago
        Correct that is it, any personal income plus the business profit.
- incongruity 10y ago
  Seems like you could fix the business/income side for less than it will cost you in insurance if you don't...

jnwatson 10y ago

$460 a month is a fantastic rate. Between my employer and myself, we pay $1806 a month for my family of 3. My employer has 3000 employees, so it isn't a weird situation with poor purchasing power. Insurance is expensive.

toomuchtodo 10y ago
I rescind my gripes about my $1300/month for a family of 3 on an unsubsidized marketplace plan.
- nodesocket 10y ago
  Wow, both of you are paying a lot, I am sorry. Basically your high premium payments are going to pay for other people's care. Not a fair system. Everybody is not paying their share, middle class is though.
  - drm237 10y ago
    You don't know that. You have no idea what kind of health issues their families face. And yes, sometimes you are just paying for other people's care, right up until the time that you need it. That is, after all, the point of insurance.
  - beat 10y ago
    For years, I paid much more out in insurance than I would ever spend that year. Last year, I had a $35,000 surgery. Heck, I spent so much on medical care last year that I had a "luxury colonoscopy" in December, because I knew I'd hit my out-of-pocket cap for the year. That colonoscopy was $6000, btw. This, for preventative care that could save hundreds of thousands of dollars from colon cancer (and quite possibly my life) down the road. In a well designed system, price controls would put preventative care like colonoscopies below actual cost (and make the money up elsewhere), to save money at the macro level.
  - yequalsx 10y ago
    I make much more than you and pay more in taxes than you. I'm paying more for national defense, police, roads, etc. I'm subsidizing you. Not a fair system.

shams93 10y ago

Yeah I feel your pain I'm in the same problem, in an early stage startup making 80% under market rate, barely making my rent and living off ramen, absolutely can't afford ACA.

cmurf 10y ago
Medicaid.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Even at 80% under market rate living on ramen (presumably, in the Bay Area as a developer), you may be over the income cap for Medicaid. Of course, choosing to accept work for 80% under market rate in a place where the high market rate for labor drives high cost of living is going to have short-term negative economic consequences.

bduerst 10y ago

What I don't get is, what would you do if there wasn't ACA? Not have insurance? If anything happened you'd be in the emergency room and would either pay outrageous amounts magnitudes more than $460/mo, or declare bankruptcy making your hospital debt a burden for everyone else.