I have everything pretty much ready to launch full time. Time, skills, customers, support from family. But I’d leave my current job behind and with it my family’s health insurance for the foreseeable future. I can’t afford any of the options I’ve seen. It’s the one thing holding me back. Any ideas for affordable health insurance for startups? If you’ve been in the same situation, what did you end up doing?
If you can’t afford health insurance then you don’t have everything ready to go. Myself, I’m holding my job to keep my health insurance until my business can support my family and our needs. It’s a bastard and a half but worst case, I’ve still got my job.
But if all you need is money, do you have a way to get some to pay for health insurance in the interim? Do a tiny “family and friends” seed round for six months runway, or however long you think you’d need?
Yeah, that’s also what I’m thinking. It’s just so sad that the US healthcare system is the thing that’s holding back business. Seems counterintuitive. I was just hoping someone knew of a good workaround.
I guess one option is to save more and risk losing the business opportunity.
Can you get Obamacare with a subsidy if you’re self-enjoyed?
I can, but it’s still outrageously expensive compared to my current situation. It would put a lot of financial stress on us in a situation that’s already stressful in every way possible.
Is it possible for your partner to get a job with health insurance while you get your business up and running? If not, the ACA website, healthcare.gov, is your best option. When filing, you won’t declare your income from when you had a job. Try to make your best guess. If needed, claim it to be $0 and then plan on paying it back when you file your taxes using the 1095-A.
If you don’t have an accountant, get one. Talk to them before leaving your job. They know the ins and outs of these things. They should be one of your first trusted advisors. If you don’t know how to pick an accountant, read Small Business Cash Flow by Dennis O ’ Berry.
Thanks for the suggestions. We have been thinking about having my partner switch jobs to something that provides better healthcare coverage. But that could take a while and put the business opportunity at risk.
Depending on the state, you may be able to get access via the health insurance marketplace.