How do you handle insurance?

Question: I understand that you are self-employed. What do you do for health insurance, dental insurance and prescription drug coverage?


Answer: We cringe when we write the monthly checks. Unfortunately health insurance is a must — it is expensive but oh, so necessary. Here’s what we do:

Health Insurance: We buy a higher deductible policy that covers major medical expenses. About every two years we go to eHealthInsurance.com and get quotes from other providers. Research is the key here. For any expenses not covered by our insurance, we negotiate with our doctors to accept a reduced fee as if insurance was paying it.

Pre-Existing Conditions: The state of Arizona has provided an option for small businesses (and self-employed) called Healthcare Group of Arizona. It is more expensive than individual coverage, but it is a group policy and is mandated to accept all who apply. If you have a pre-existing condition that precludes you from getting individual coverage, this is the ticket for you. Your pre-existing condition is subject to an exclusionary period, but you will eventually be covered. Visit Health Care Group of Arizona.

In other states contact your state department of insurance (this page has links for every state) and see what they can do to help you.

Dental: We just bite the bullet on this one. We’ve carefully researched a dentist and found one who gives us a discount when we pay at the time of service. There are discount dental plans (not insurance) available, but you’ve got to research the quality of the dental care you will receive. Visit DentalPlans.com.

Prescriptions: We’ve learned to ask our doctor not to prescribe newest drug brought to him by a pharmaceutical salesperson. We ask for drugs that are also available as generics and we always ask for samples from our doctor.

Stay Healthy: We read lots of books and research any new conditions so that we can participate with our doctor for a cure. We believe that nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are critical to minimizing medical expenses. Our go-to book for any health questions we have is The Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch. We have put this and many other favorite books in our Web site bookstore—healthy living section.