10 ms·

Probably the biggest hurdle is dealing with healthcare on your own, it's just prohibitively expensive to deal with alone in the US. Multiple incomes is where it

Probably the biggest hurdle is dealing with healthcare on your own, it's just prohibitively expensive to deal with alone in the US. Multiple incomes is where it's at, at least until one of the projects takes off to cover cost of living and healthcare nonsense.

glfharris 7y ago
Wouldn't that imply startup rates to be much higher in countries with national healthcare? But I don't think that's borne out in data.
- poulsbohemian 7y ago
  It isn't, and it is a known enigma. That said, I'm inclined to think our entrepreneurship rates would be even higher in this country if we had a non-employer based health care scheme. I base this on the anecdata of having met easily dozens of people over the years who wished to be entrepreneurs but stayed in job because of the health care benefits. Would love to see further studies of this correlation between health care costs + entrepreneurship.
- simple_phrases 7y ago
  Entrepreneurship in Scandinavia is higher than in the US.
- JoshTriplett 7y ago
  There are many confounding factors there. Countries with government-provided healthcare also have many other differences that contribute positively or negatively to entrepreneurship.
tempsy 7y ago
What is your definition of prohibitively expensive? I've bought a gold plan off the exchange in California for Kaiser and it's $530/mo with no deductible. That's lower than I expected.
- moretai 7y ago
  I think most people don't know that. I didn't know that.
- Thorentis 7y ago
  > $530/mo Wow. Just wow. As an Australian, I cannot fathom having to include $530 into my monthly budget just to ensure I don't end up homeless (or heavily in debt) if I get really sick. I'm not a socialist (I'm quite a centrist when it comes to economic policies), but something about the US system absolutely must change.
  - gketuma 7y ago
    That’s actually on the cheap side. If you have say a wife and 2 kids, you pay around $1500 a month on the health exchange.
    - fastball 7y ago
      1500/4 = 375, which is significantly cheaper than 530.
      - lotsofpulp 7y ago
        The person that said $530 said no deductible, and they’re probably a young person. $1,500 family of 4 insurance will have at least a $5k deductible and $13k oop max I would estimate.
        PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
        my wife and i are in our mid-50's. Here in NM, we have $1095/month with a $6600 deductible each. I'm happy paying 10 of our income for health insurance, but only if we actually get health coverage without that kind of deductible.
        lotsofpulp 7y ago
aksss 7y ago
Speaking from experience, this is true. You should be comfortable with going without insurance for a while if you're going to go out on your own. Or consider alternate programs (health ministry, direct primary care subscription, or use 2020's new ICHRA options to route employer pre-tax expense to employee premiums). Lack of health insurance is a large barrier to starting your own business.
- qaq 7y ago
  If you don't have a family and have a remote gig lined up move to low cost country for a bit.
davidjnelson 7y ago
Was just looking at this out of curiosity the other day and in California the equivalent plan to what you’d get from employment to cover a family is $1,500/month from anthem. This is the platinum ppo from the exchange. $15 doctor visits, $9,000 yearly max, no deductible, $30 tier 3 drugs. The price is similar to what you get from an employer, except the employer pays most or all of the premium.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  That doesn’t sound right at all. I just searched on coveredca.com and anthem platinum ppo for 2 40 year olds with 10 and 15 year old children is $3,600 per month.

glfharris 7y ago

Wouldn't that imply startup rates to be much higher in countries with national healthcare? But I don't think that's borne out in data.

poulsbohemian 7y ago
It isn't, and it is a known enigma. That said, I'm inclined to think our entrepreneurship rates would be even higher in this country if we had a non-employer based health care scheme. I base this on the anecdata of having met easily dozens of people over the years who wished to be entrepreneurs but stayed in job because of the health care benefits. Would love to see further studies of this correlation between health care costs + entrepreneurship.
simple_phrases 7y ago
Entrepreneurship in Scandinavia is higher than in the US.
JoshTriplett 7y ago
There are many confounding factors there. Countries with government-provided healthcare also have many other differences that contribute positively or negatively to entrepreneurship.

tempsy 7y ago

What is your definition of prohibitively expensive? I've bought a gold plan off the exchange in California for Kaiser and it's $530/mo with no deductible. That's lower than I expected.

moretai 7y ago
I think most people don't know that. I didn't know that.
Thorentis 7y ago
> $530/mo Wow. Just wow. As an Australian, I cannot fathom having to include $530 into my monthly budget just to ensure I don't end up homeless (or heavily in debt) if I get really sick. I'm not a socialist (I'm quite a centrist when it comes to economic policies), but something about the US system absolutely must change.
- gketuma 7y ago
  That’s actually on the cheap side. If you have say a wife and 2 kids, you pay around $1500 a month on the health exchange.
  - fastball 7y ago
    1500/4 = 375, which is significantly cheaper than 530.
    - lotsofpulp 7y ago
      The person that said $530 said no deductible, and they’re probably a young person. $1,500 family of 4 insurance will have at least a $5k deductible and $13k oop max I would estimate.
      - PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
        my wife and i are in our mid-50's. Here in NM, we have $1095/month with a $6600 deductible each. I'm happy paying 10 of our income for health insurance, but only if we actually get health coverage without that kind of deductible.
        lotsofpulp 7y ago

aksss 7y ago

Speaking from experience, this is true. You should be comfortable with going without insurance for a while if you're going to go out on your own. Or consider alternate programs (health ministry, direct primary care subscription, or use 2020's new ICHRA options to route employer pre-tax expense to employee premiums). Lack of health insurance is a large barrier to starting your own business.

qaq 7y ago
If you don't have a family and have a remote gig lined up move to low cost country for a bit.

davidjnelson 7y ago

Was just looking at this out of curiosity the other day and in California the equivalent plan to what you’d get from employment to cover a family is $1,500/month from anthem. This is the platinum ppo from the exchange. $15 doctor visits, $9,000 yearly max, no deductible, $30 tier 3 drugs. The price is similar to what you get from an employer, except the employer pays most or all of the premium.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
That doesn’t sound right at all. I just searched on coveredca.com and anthem platinum ppo for 2 40 year olds with 10 and 15 year old children is $3,600 per month.