Hello,
I have a question about the healthcare insurance in US.
I have heard that it is tied to your employment and the company provides for it.
So here are a couple of questions:
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Is there no way for an individual to get their own personal insurance and not be dependent on the company?
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What about freelancers, business owners and retirees? Do they forfeit their insurances?
You can get insurance through the national marketplace, this was put in to effect with the ACA. The biggest problem with that though is the cost can be insane (single person, $800+ month). Usually why people go through the company is it is much cheaper (I pay about $60/month premium for just me).
It is usually cheaper because either a company “self funds” or they have a large number and better leverage with insurance companies. If you’re a business owner, you work with brokers who will try to find you the plan that best suits you or your company’s needs. Finally retirees will either have insurance through their pension, or will use Medicare which is another government provided insurance for people over 65.
I know that probably raises more questions but hopefully that’s a start.
That does sound deceptively hard for individuals to be not dependent on a job for them to qualify for proper healthcare in the US though.
Pricing you out of your own care is pretty hard to hear.