6 ms·

I tried that. It did not work. ACA is not designed for entrepreneurs. When you are entrepreneur your cashflow projections are quite unreliable, and cannot be ea

by skolos 13y ago

I tried that. It did not work. ACA is not designed for entrepreneurs. When you are entrepreneur your cashflow projections are quite unreliable, and cannot be easily deduced from your previous income. But when you sign up for ACA plan you are asked all sorts of income questions to figure out what your subsidy is going to be. And worse of all, if you don't have any income (which is normal when you are starting a business), you cannot get any ACA plan - you are referred to Medicaid, so ACA is quite useless in that situation. In my case we are without income for more than a year. The marketplace did not allow my family to sign up for any insurance and said to use Medicaid. However we are running out of savings this year, so two things will happen - either our business will pick up, or I find a regular job. I any case we will have jump of income and will not be eligible for Medicaid or any subsidy with ACA. In my view, ACA intentions are good, but it is realized in entrepreneur unfriendly way and I cringe every time people say that how it is going to boost startups in this country.

asnyder 13y ago
Yeah, but if you qualify for Medicaid now based on your current income then you should enroll, as it's expansion (increasing the income levels) was part of the ACA too, assuming you're in a sane state. At the point in which your income goes above the Medicaid cut-off you should still be eligible for some subsidies up to a certain point. After that, depending on what state you're in your monthly premiums on an exchange plan will be very very reasonable. Anywhere from $50 - $300 for Silver plans, again based on your state, and if you qualify for a subsidy then obviously that's reduced. Don't quite understand why you think it doesn't work for entreprenuers. I myself left a cushy job around 10 months ago to do a new start-up and I signed up on the NY exchanges nicely, with a monthly outlay of a very reasonable $150.
- damon_c 13y ago
  Especially compared with the prior situation which was that as a freelancer, if you were lucky you could get individual coverage for around $500+... assuming no pre-existing conditions.
  - jeremyt 13y ago
    I had individual coverage as a freelancer for $130 per month.
    - joe_inferno 13y ago
      I got coverage under the ACA as a freelancer for myself and my wife at $420 a month.
  - kungfooey 13y ago
    In NY, it was illegal to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, which meant it was higher there than other states in which it was legal. I used to live in NYC and was under Freelancers Union insurance, which ran about $400 a month with a $10k deductible and 30% coinsurance. Moved to Nashville and was able to get better insurance for about $200 a month. (I'm insured through an employer now, so I have no idea what it looks like post-ACA).
- tzs 13y ago
  > Yeah, but if you qualify for Medicaid now based on your current income then you should enroll, as it's expansion (increasing the income levels) was part of the ACA too, assuming you're in a sane state Do they care why your income is low? For instance, if I lose my job, and decide to take a year off before looking for another job, could I go on Medicaid for a year? Or is it like unemployment benefits, where they get testy and stingy if you aren't trying to get a job?
nknighthb 13y ago
So... sign up for Medicaid. When you become ineligible for that, you can sign up for a non-Medicaid plan. I fail to see the problem.
- josefresco 13y ago
  Yeah I fail to see the problem. When I left my salaried job to start my own business I applied for our state provided healthcare (MA) as my income was almost non existent. As my income increased I got bumped from plan to plan adding cost along the way. If you actually have $0 in income, Medicaid or the like sounds appropriate.
  - bilbo0s 13y ago
    To be fair to Skolos... it does depend on what state he was in. But I agree... entrepreneurs should not be living in certain states. They are just bad places to be launching a startup.
    - josefresco 13y ago
      Didn't the Affordable Health Care Act essentially roll out nationally a model similar to the successful state models (like Massachusetts) making this a universal method? I claim ignorance here but was under the impression the systems worked similar.
      - bilbo0s 13y ago
        Nope... states can opt out. So you really need to check the rules in your own state. Like any other thing when starting a business.
- skolos 13y ago
  I think I was not clear - there is no problem with signing up with Medicaid. The problem is - I don't see how ACA adds anything to entrepreneurs. When I quit my job, we signed up for private insurance (family of 4 - $500 a month with decent coverage). That was pre ACA time. All I've got from ACA - my insurance got bumped to $680, which is OK and still much cheaper than any comparable plan on the marketplace. So my complaint is not about lack of options for entrepreneurs, my complaint is that ACA actually made my life marginally worse, not better. Also don't forget that jumping from plan to plan includes filling tons of forms, which takes quite a bit of time and frustration, which I would rather spend building my business.
founder789 13y ago
I am in the same boat as you. I am the founder of a small startup. My business income is highly variable. Most months I am below the medicaid cutoff, others above. Signing up through the exchanges under this scenario sounded like a nightmare where if my income goes up, I have to change from one plan (medicaid) to another (private plan) and possibly back again if my income drops. Instead of that nightmare, I opted to skip the exchanges entirely and sign up direct with a private plan. This disqualifies me for any subsidy, but as a person in his early 30s, my plan is only about $300/mo which I consider very affordable for the level of coverage I am getting. On a separate note, I am very thankful that ACA exists, because I have a pre-existing condition with very costly needs. Being able to have any insurance at all, without discrimination and at a reasonable price, is a godsend. I hope they can create some more sane options for entrepreneurs, but even if they don't, I am very grateful that the ACA exists.
girvo 13y ago
I was grumbling today about my new job and having to pay $30 a month for our Medicare levy. I can't even fathom how expensive your health insurance is, you poor bastards. And yet despite that, startups are few and far between, despite our government happy to help us when it comes to our health, etc. Go figure on that one.

by skolos 13y ago

asnyder 13y ago

Yeah, but if you qualify for Medicaid now based on your current income then you should enroll, as it's expansion (increasing the income levels) was part of the ACA too, assuming you're in a sane state. At the point in which your income goes above the Medicaid cut-off you should still be eligible for some subsidies up to a certain point. After that, depending on what state you're in your monthly premiums on an exchange plan will be very very reasonable. Anywhere from $50 - $300 for Silver plans, again based on your state, and if you qualify for a subsidy then obviously that's reduced. Don't quite understand why you think it doesn't work for entreprenuers. I myself left a cushy job around 10 months ago to do a new start-up and I signed up on the NY exchanges nicely, with a monthly outlay of a very reasonable $150.

damon_c 13y ago
Especially compared with the prior situation which was that as a freelancer, if you were lucky you could get individual coverage for around $500+... assuming no pre-existing conditions.
- jeremyt 13y ago
  I had individual coverage as a freelancer for $130 per month.
  - joe_inferno 13y ago
    I got coverage under the ACA as a freelancer for myself and my wife at $420 a month.
- kungfooey 13y ago
  In NY, it was illegal to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, which meant it was higher there than other states in which it was legal. I used to live in NYC and was under Freelancers Union insurance, which ran about $400 a month with a $10k deductible and 30% coinsurance. Moved to Nashville and was able to get better insurance for about $200 a month. (I'm insured through an employer now, so I have no idea what it looks like post-ACA).
tzs 13y ago
> Yeah, but if you qualify for Medicaid now based on your current income then you should enroll, as it's expansion (increasing the income levels) was part of the ACA too, assuming you're in a sane state Do they care why your income is low? For instance, if I lose my job, and decide to take a year off before looking for another job, could I go on Medicaid for a year? Or is it like unemployment benefits, where they get testy and stingy if you aren't trying to get a job?

nknighthb 13y ago

So... sign up for Medicaid. When you become ineligible for that, you can sign up for a non-Medicaid plan. I fail to see the problem.

josefresco 13y ago
Yeah I fail to see the problem. When I left my salaried job to start my own business I applied for our state provided healthcare (MA) as my income was almost non existent. As my income increased I got bumped from plan to plan adding cost along the way. If you actually have $0 in income, Medicaid or the like sounds appropriate.
- bilbo0s 13y ago
  To be fair to Skolos... it does depend on what state he was in. But I agree... entrepreneurs should not be living in certain states. They are just bad places to be launching a startup.
  - josefresco 13y ago
    Didn't the Affordable Health Care Act essentially roll out nationally a model similar to the successful state models (like Massachusetts) making this a universal method? I claim ignorance here but was under the impression the systems worked similar.
    - bilbo0s 13y ago
      Nope... states can opt out. So you really need to check the rules in your own state. Like any other thing when starting a business.
skolos 13y ago
I think I was not clear - there is no problem with signing up with Medicaid. The problem is - I don't see how ACA adds anything to entrepreneurs. When I quit my job, we signed up for private insurance (family of 4 - $500 a month with decent coverage). That was pre ACA time. All I've got from ACA - my insurance got bumped to $680, which is OK and still much cheaper than any comparable plan on the marketplace. So my complaint is not about lack of options for entrepreneurs, my complaint is that ACA actually made my life marginally worse, not better. Also don't forget that jumping from plan to plan includes filling tons of forms, which takes quite a bit of time and frustration, which I would rather spend building my business.

founder789 13y ago

I am in the same boat as you. I am the founder of a small startup. My business income is highly variable. Most months I am below the medicaid cutoff, others above. Signing up through the exchanges under this scenario sounded like a nightmare where if my income goes up, I have to change from one plan (medicaid) to another (private plan) and possibly back again if my income drops. Instead of that nightmare, I opted to skip the exchanges entirely and sign up direct with a private plan. This disqualifies me for any subsidy, but as a person in his early 30s, my plan is only about $300/mo which I consider very affordable for the level of coverage I am getting. On a separate note, I am very thankful that ACA exists, because I have a pre-existing condition with very costly needs. Being able to have any insurance at all, without discrimination and at a reasonable price, is a godsend. I hope they can create some more sane options for entrepreneurs, but even if they don't, I am very grateful that the ACA exists.

girvo 13y ago

I was grumbling today about my new job and having to pay $30 a month for our Medicare levy. I can't even fathom how expensive your health insurance is, you poor bastards. And yet despite that, startups are few and far between, despite our government happy to help us when it comes to our health, etc. Go figure on that one.