My experience has been that if you are "telecommuting" for a reputable company and are not considered an "independent consultant" or are otherwise labeled as a

My experience has been that if you are "telecommuting" for a reputable company and are not considered an "independent consultant" or are otherwise labeled as a 1099 employee you are carried under the company's group health insurance plan (assuming they offer health insurance). It really depends on the company though and how your employment is set up with them. For example, I know that Microsoft has many employees who are remote or field employees, meaning they primarily work from home or a client location. These employees are full-time MS employees and receive all benefits any other MS employee receives. Occasionally they receive more in the sense they are compensated for home phone and/or Internet costs as well. Ultimately though it really depends on the company and if they offer benefits. Be sure to check with the company and ensure they are reputable before taking any job where the workforce is exclusively made up of remote workers. The nature of that description makes it sound like the employer will be 1099ing you at the end of the year, but I could be wrong. If you are a 1099 employee you will most likely have to obtain your own benefits.