Thursday, October 18, 2007

Affordable health insurance for self employed residents of New York

Why it is important for the self employed to have health insurance

People who work for big corporations normally are provided with medical coverage as part of their benefits. If they ever fall sick, their employee will pick up the tab for the medical expenses. Self employed do not that safety net. Getting sick can be a pretty expensive affair in New York. If the self employed ever fall sick, they will have to take care of their own medical expenses. Depending on what kind of treatments are needed, the costs can vary from an affordable sum to something which is beyond the means of the self employed. It may mean having to go without the treatments needed or get the treatments and bring the self employed to near bankruptcy.

Insurance works by pooling risks. Insured pays a premium which goes into a pool. Those who are fortunate and stayed healthy do not get any "benefits" from the insurance pool, and the insurance premium they paid wouldn't give them any "returns". However, this is a happy situation to be in, for who will want to get sick just so that they can draw benefits from the insurance pool formed by the premiums paid by the insured.

The unfortunate who fell sick, but who bought health insurance can be sort of considered "fortunate" in the sense that they don't have to worry about the costs of medical treatments. These costs can be paid out from the insurance pool.

Health Insurance in New York for the self employed

OK, so I assume you are convinced of the necessity of getting health insurance. Now there is the question of the insurance premium, which must be paid for you to be insured against risks of getting sick. Can you afford it?

Fortunately, there is Healthy New York which says they can offer affordable insurance for the self employed. Getting a quote for the health insurance you need is a simple 3 step process.

First, use the drop-down menu to select the county you reside in. The counties listed are Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester, Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugua, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Duchess, Rrie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genessee, Greene, Hamiltom, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates.

You will then have to use another drop-down menu to select your status, namely Applicant, Applicant & Spouse, Applicant and Child, Applicant & 2 Children, Family (applicant, spouse & 1 child), Applicant & 3 Children, Family (applicant, spouse & 2 children), Applicant & 4 Children, Family (applicant, spouse & 4 children).

Finally, you will have to select your annual income. Here the choices are only 2 - under $41,625 and over $41,625.

Let us try an example, Let us assume you are staying in Bronx, you want health insurance for Family (applicant, spouse & 1 child), and your annual income is under $41,625.

Step number to is to get an instant quote to compare plans. Click "Get Instant Quotes" and what we get is a list of different plans by 4 different insurance companies listing the benefits. Check that and see how affordable it is.

If you wish to know more about "Healthy New York", there is a 12 page PDF book by Healthy New York Insurance which gives comprehensive information on health insurance for self employed New York residents.

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