I have everything pretty much ready to launch full time. Time, skills, customers, support from family. But I’d leave my current job behind and with it my family’s health insurance for the foreseeable future. I can’t afford any of the options I’ve seen. It’s the one thing holding me back. Any ideas for affordable health insurance for startups? If you’ve been in the same situation, what did you end up doing?
System working as intended in the US.
Tieing healthcare to work wasn’t an accident.
I don’t like that.
I was actually part of a startup in Europe some years ago. Healthcare was not part of the equation.
Can you get Obamacare with a subsidy if you’re self-enjoyed?
This is what I do as a business owner. Buy insurance from the marketplace.
I can, but it’s still outrageously expensive compared to my current situation. It would put a lot of financial stress on us in a situation that’s already stressful in every way possible.
I have my own business and buy my health insurance from the marketplace. Yes it’s expensive, but at a job that’s just part of your salary you never see.
If you can’t afford health insurance then you don’t have everything ready to go. Myself, I’m holding my job to keep my health insurance until my business can support my family and our needs. It’s a bastard and a half but worst case, I’ve still got my job.
But if all you need is money, do you have a way to get some to pay for health insurance in the interim? Do a tiny “family and friends” seed round for six months runway, or however long you think you’d need?
Yeah, that’s also what I’m thinking. It’s just so sad that the US healthcare system is the thing that’s holding back business. Seems counterintuitive. I was just hoping someone knew of a good workaround.
I guess one option is to save more and risk losing the business opportunity.
It’s just so sad that the US healthcare system is the thing that’s holding back business. Seems counterintuitive.
It’s holding back your business. The wealthy do not have this problem.
This is working as designed.
Does your idea only work in the US? Can you move to a country that’s, y’know, more sane with healthcare (and I say this as a former US healthcare IT worker now living in another country).
It would work anywhere, but the opportunity I have is in the US and moving overseas right now is not really an option.
I do feel discouraged that it’s the healthcare system that’s holding back my business opportunity. Shouldn’t be like that.
I do feel discouraged that it’s the healthcare system that’s holding back my business opportunity. Shouldn’t be like that.
Your business opportunity isn’t an opportunity for competitors’ shareholders; you’re more valuable to them being exploited for labor, and decades of “socialism is communism” governments and corporate lobbying have made it as difficult as possible to enter the market without being funded by and beholden to investment firms.
While the situation is utter shite, don’t let it discourage you. Just make sure to be safe and have an emergency fund that isn’t tied up in your business.
There’s a few options.
- Get healthcare through your spouse.
- Start your business as a “side hustle” while maintaining your job for a while.
- Try to find help through a small business alliance or chamber of commerce. (You probably need employees to get any real benefits)
- Welcome to running a small business, everything is far more expensive than you thought.