Ready to quit job, but Health Insurance?!?

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Ready to quit job, but Health Insurance?!?

Derek Persuit
Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 43 posts · 7 votes

Happy Quarantine Everyone,

I hope you all are able to do what you can in these hard times. 

Im ready to take the leap sometime in the near future. The leap is quitting the corporate job and pursuing real estate full time, leaving the rat race.

One BIG obstacle Im seeing now is health insurance.

For any of you who have taken the same leap, what did you do for health insurance? Ive done so much research, reading books, looking at online FIRE forums, looked on biggerpockets. I havent seen anything that really is consistent or makes sense on what people do for private or independent health insurance.

Who has taken the leap and is content with their current healh insurance situation?

What did you do to find the right insurance for you?

Has anyone not gotten insurance at all? Maybe just something catastrophic?

My wife and I are both in our 20s and healthy. We have 1 child and plan to have more. Im considering getting some high deductible health plan (HDHP), and maybe getting the kids under CHIP (Childrens Health Insurance Program).

Please let me what youve done that you found worth pursuing.

Take care!

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Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y

@Derek Persuit

The good thing if is you have a business(not rentals) you can deduct the cost of the health insurance that you pay.

[email protected]917-280-8544
Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews
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  • Melinda Miller
    Rental Property Investor · St. Louis · Member since 2018 · 43 posts · 24 votes
    6y

    Following. 58 and ready to retire. Spouse is retired. 

    1Reply
  • Steven MallowPro Member
    Insurance Agent · Jefferson City, MO · Member since 2015 · 67 posts · 10 votes
    6y

    I'm not positive in Texas how the health insurance marketplace works.  I can tell you that in Missouri, we have the marketplace through healthcare.gov. (I'm sure it's in TX too)  You would then be able to browse through a ton of different plans with different deductibles and benefit structures.  There are plans that are HSA eligible as well as plans that are more traditional that offer copays up front.  You could then choose what suits you best.  Normally you can only enroll during open enrollment (Nov-Jan) but your change in employment would trigger a special enrollment period that would allow you to enroll immediately.

    Another option in MO would be short term medical plans.  I'm assuming there are options like this in TX as well.  The downfall of the short term medical plan is you have to renew it every 6 or 12 months proving insurability and you would really want to read the fine print for things that aren't covered.  For example, if pre-existing conditions are not covered and your wife is pregnant as the policy renews, they may treat the pregnancy as a pre-existing condition and leave you with the bill.  You would have to check with that specific carrier.  This is the much less expensive option but the plan benefits are less as well in my opinion.

    @Melinda Miller In MO there is a Missouri Chamber of commerce benefit plan that you and your husband could join as "group health plan" as long as you can show that you are both actively working in the investing business and that you are a member of one of the Missouri Chamber Federation chamber of commerce groups.  I work with this plan and could help you out with that if you were to need it.  If not, the next best option is going to be through healthcare.gov and again as you were to change employment that would give you a special enrollment period.

    Hope this helps.

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  • Melinda Miller
    Rental Property Investor · St. Louis · Member since 2018 · 43 posts · 24 votes
    6y

    @Steven Mallow

    Thank you. I will check on the Chamber of Commerce. We might be in the Carondelet Chamber. 

    0Reply
  • Steven MallowPro Member
    Insurance Agent · Jefferson City, MO · Member since 2015 · 67 posts · 10 votes
    6y

    You're welcome.  I'm not seeing that as one of the chambers that is listed but they haven't updated it in a while.  I'm sure there is one close to you that you could join and make it work.  Let me know if you have any questions!

    1Reply
  • Guy Gimenez
    Investor · Corpus Christi, TX · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    I've had BCBS for 15 years and our premiums are outrageous. Just got my wife on Impact coverage and it is saving us over $6,000 this year over Blue Cross. ImpactHealthCareSavings.com. It's really for healthy or fairly healthy people which is why the cost to consumers is so much lower. 

    0Reply
  • Derek Persuit
    OP
    Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 43 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    @Guy Gimenez

    Are your premiums 100% tax-deductible or deductible at all?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Agent · Powell, OH · Member since 2019 · 18 posts · 18 votes
    6y

    Health care premiums are not tax deductible.  Just co-pays, deductibles and other out of pocket expenses.  And even out of those, only the amount that is 10% over your gross income.  So if you made 100K a year, you can only deduct the amount of expenses that are over the first 10K.  

    0Reply
  • Guy Gimenez
    Investor · Corpus Christi, TX · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    @Derek Persuit

    Check with your CPA, our CPA allows us to deduct 100% of the cost since we pay said cost with company funds as part of our compensation. We've done this for 20 years. 

    2Reply
  • Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
    Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    @Derek Persuit

    The good thing if is you have a business(not rentals) you can deduct the cost of the health insurance that you pay.

    [email protected]917-280-8544
    Basit Siddiqi CPA4.979 Reviews
    View Page
    2Reply
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