Health Insurance Coverage: Tips & Insight
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One question that pops in our Inbox regularly is what are the best options to get health insurance coverage?
A weekend article at SFGate.com talks about health insurance options after a job loss, but the recommendations actually apply to others as well.
Health Insurance Options | |
| Things to consider... | Benefits |
Group Health Insurance | Group coverage might be relatively easy to get if you're married and your spouse has coverage. |
Individual Health Insurance | An individual policy might be an option, especially if you're young and healthy. |
Self-Employed Health Insurance | Bringing on a partner or hiring an employee might be well worth it: just two people are needed to qualify for most small business group coverage. |
COBRA Continuation Health Coverage | COBRA is a federal law that requires companies with 20 or more employees to offer coverage to former employees for 18 months (36 months for dependents in some cases). COBRA tends to be very expensive, and COBRA goes away if your company does. |
Trade Adjustment Assistance | Any employee whose jobs were outsourced overseas may also be able to turn to a federal program, too. |
Veterans Administration Benefits | If you're a military veteran, it's most likely you're covered through the VA. |
Family public programs | While we're always very reluctant to even bring this up because we dislike the notion of anyone reducing their income, the article does raise the idea of going from a double-income to single-income family. Doing so though might make you (or at very least your kids) eligible for certain programs. Healthy Families and California Healthy Kids are two such programs. |
Gov't-sponsored high-risk pools | Programs like one in California for high risk individuals may warrant a second look. Plans like this are expensive and can involve a waiting period. California's Major Risk Medical Insurance Program. |
Two other resources in your quest are:












