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"And the health care bill is huge for potential entrepreneurs; one of the major disincentives to quitting your job is the lack of health insurance." After all

by hexis 16y ago

"And the health care bill is huge for potential entrepreneurs; one of the major disincentives to quitting your job is the lack of health insurance." After all the debate last year, I still find claims like this so strange. As far as I have ever been able to tell, the Health Care reform merely assesses a tax on being uninsured. So, if you quit your job to start a company, you no longer have the option to forgo insurance without now paying a penalty on your taxes. How an additional penalty would either a) provide more/better health care or b) spur entrepreneurship I have never been able to understand.

nostrademons 16y ago
The biggest advantage - unfortunately not taking effect until 2014 - is that people can no longer be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. I know several people who would make excellent startup founders, but because they have chronic health conditions like diabetes or Marfan's, they're unable to work anywhere other than big companies or academia. Small businesses also get a tax credit for 35-50% of their health insurance costs. I think there was also a provision for low-income health insurance subsidies that may affect many startup founders, since oftentimes your technical "income" when you're getting the company off the ground is near zero.
jordanb 16y ago
One big change that's in effect now for young entrepreneurs is that they can stay on their parent's health plan until 26. I'm not sure if this will actually encourage any more young people to try their hand at entrepreneurship because most consider themselves invincible and don't give a lot of thought to health care, but it'll certainly help prevent the experience from becoming a horror story.
- anamax 16y ago
  > One big change that's in effect now for young entrepreneurs is that they can stay on their parent's health plan until 26. Since young people's coverage is very inexpensive, that's not a huge benefit. However, it is being paid for by other people. Of course, there's no guarantee that such cost shifting will continue.

by hexis 16y ago

nostrademons 16y ago

The biggest advantage - unfortunately not taking effect until 2014 - is that people can no longer be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. I know several people who would make excellent startup founders, but because they have chronic health conditions like diabetes or Marfan's, they're unable to work anywhere other than big companies or academia. Small businesses also get a tax credit for 35-50% of their health insurance costs. I think there was also a provision for low-income health insurance subsidies that may affect many startup founders, since oftentimes your technical "income" when you're getting the company off the ground is near zero.

jordanb 16y ago

One big change that's in effect now for young entrepreneurs is that they can stay on their parent's health plan until 26. I'm not sure if this will actually encourage any more young people to try their hand at entrepreneurship because most consider themselves invincible and don't give a lot of thought to health care, but it'll certainly help prevent the experience from becoming a horror story.

anamax 16y ago
> One big change that's in effect now for young entrepreneurs is that they can stay on their parent's health plan until 26. Since young people's coverage is very inexpensive, that's not a huge benefit. However, it is being paid for by other people. Of course, there's no guarantee that such cost shifting will continue.