Page 209 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

example.†

Join a concierge program. A concierge program is the opposite of a high-
deductible policy that covers only serious problems. For a monthly fee ($150 to
300 on average), you can visit the same doctor for most primary and preventive
needs. You’ll also get the doctor’s email address and “call anytime” cell phone
number, and the doctor will act as an advocate and referrer if you need more
serious care. Some people combine a concierge program with another policy to
ensure that both short-term and disaster prevention needs are met.

Get insured through your partner. A number of business owners wrote to tell
me that they relied on their spouse or partner’s job to cover both of them while
they worked full-time or part-time in the business. Courtney Carver was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006, and her medical bills would be $8,000
a month without insurance. “I feel fortunate that my husband works for a
company that has group insurance,” she says. “For now, starting a business
together with him leaving his job is not an option because of my medical
condition. We are looking at other out-of-state options for the future but are tied
to his job for the insurance for now.”

Of course, this option isn’t available to you if you’re single or if your partner
doesn’t have a job that provides insurance benefits, but if you do have the
option, it may very well be the best one.

Stay on COBRA as long as possible. If you have lost your job, COBRA allows
you to continue receiving the same health-care coverage for a certain length of
time at the same price your former employer paid. You have to pay for it, but
because it originally was based on a group rate, the cost is often lower (and
coverage may be better) than that of any plan you could purchase yourself.
Several people spoke of extending COBRA coverage for up to three years as
they built their businesses.

Self-insure or use an HSA. “My health-care plan involves prayer, vitamins, and
avoiding sharp objects,” Amy Oscar told me on Twitter. Others explained that
they were just being pragmatic about the poor options available to them,
weighing the costs and what they perceived as limited benefits of an expensive
plan they weren’t likely to use. If you have a family or health-care issues, you