Affordable self employed health quotes can be hard to find.  Throughout Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo there are thousands of individuals who are in need of affordable self employed health quotes, such as the health insurance plans through SuperMed One offered by Medical Mutual of Ohio. 

Medical Mutual of Ohio offers numerous plans that are designed with great transparency, making it easy for a self employed individual to understand, administer and utilize the benefits provided.  One policy that offers the wellness and preventive care that many self employed people are utilizing is the SuperMed One Wellness Health Savings Account (HSA) plan.  This plan covers all preventive wellness in full at 100%, such as all child wellness checkups, immunizations, general physicals, mammograms, pap smear tests, prostate exams, etc.  Working in conjunction with a Health Savings Account, the Wellness HSA plan offers self employed individuals, families, professionals, the tax savvy and financially conscious an affordable health insurance plan at a very reasonable rate. 

Listed below are sample self employed health quotes for the Medical Mutual of Ohio SuperMed One Wellness HSA plan based on 35, 45 and 55 year old males:

Self Employed Health Quotes - Medical Mutual of Ohio SuperMed One HSA

• 35 year old Male - SuperMed One HSA 5000 (Wellness Rider included):  $50.89*
• 45 year old Male - SuperMed One HSA 5000 (Wellness Rider included):  $73.52*
• 55 year old Male - SuperMed One HSA 5000 (Wellness Rider included):  $119.40*

This is just one example, listed below are the other self employed MMO health plans available to self employed individuals/families throughout Ohio:

Medical Mutual of Ohio

• SuperMed One Elite
• SuperMed One High Deductible
• SuperMed One Premium
• SuperMed One Value
• SuperMed One Wellness HSA

Understanding 1099 employees and Self Employed Health Insurance

Self employed individuals, sometimes referred to as 1099 employees, are often times not eligible for group health insurance, meaning they have to turn to the very complicated market of individual and family health insurance plans.  Some self employed occupations that might be interested in securing an individual or family health insurance policy, includes:  realtors, attorneys, pastors, doctors, as well as many other fields of work.  With the self employed health insurance tax deductions that are available, the cost of an individual or family policy is very much affordable, making it a better option than a group policy.  Also, those small businesses with numerous employees have the option to list bill.  This means that all individuals within the company have individual policies; however, they are all included on one list bill sent to the employer for reconciliation.

If you would like to instantly compare self employed health insurance quotes, carriers and plans with the SuperMed One products, please click here or on the “Get Quotes Now!” link or contact a Health Insurance Specialist at Chaser Insurance Group directly by calling (877)775-4321 or emailing AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com.

*   Health insurance rates may vary based on resident location, effective date, deductible and underwriting.

** This is only to be used as a reference and is only a partial listing of benefits and in no way represents a contract of insurance.

Before claiming this tax deduction, you must calculate your allowable health insurance deduction. Take your self-employment income, and subtract the 50% deduction for self-employment taxes, and subtract any retirement contributions you make to SEP-IRA, SIMPLE-IRA, or Keogh plan. The remainder is your allowable deduction for health insurance expenses.

If your self-employment income is from a Schedule C business, and you report a net loss on Form 1040 Line 12, then you are not eligible to deduct your health insurance costs.

You can deduct the full cost of health insurance you purchase for yourself, your spouse, and/or your dependents. However, you cannot deduct any insurance costs for any months you were eligible to participate in a group health insurance plan through your or your spouse’s employer. For example, if you paid for 12 months of health insurance coverage for yourself and your family, but you became eligible to participate in your spouse’s group health insurance in December, then you can deduct only 11 months worth of insurance premiums.

Where to Claim the Deduction

You claim the health insurance deduction as an “above the line” tax deduction on Form 1040, Line 29. You will need to use the worksheet provided in the Instructions for Form 1040.

Any health insurance premiums that you cannot deduct directly on Form 1040, you may be able to deduct as a medical expense on Schedule A.

From the IRS

“You may be able to deduct the amount you paid for health insurance for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents if any of the following applies.

• You were self-employed and had a net profit for the year.
• You used one of the optional methods to figure your net earnings from self-employment on Schedule SE.
• You received wages in 2005 from an S corporation in which you were a more-than-2% shareholder. Health insurance benefits paid for you may be shown in Form W-2, box 14.”

Source: Instructions for Form 1040, Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction.

For more information regarding small business, individual or family health insurance programs, please feel free to contact a licensed independent health insurance specialist of Chaser Insurance Group at (513)217-9491 or (877)775-4321.  You can also reach an agent by email at AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com. 

As of August 1st, 2010, Medical Mutual of Ohio has been accepting applications for the Ohio High Risk Pool.  The High Risk Pool is a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or health care reform, which was approved by President Obama on March 23, 2010.  The purpose of the High Risk Pool is to allow for affordable health insurance options for those individuals who cannot secure coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

Both Medical Mutual and the Ohio Department of Insurance believe that the High Risk Pool will eventually cover over 4,900 members.  With the assistance of the federal government (in the amount of $152 million), Medical Mutual is hoping to financially sustain the High Risk Pool until 2014–at which time all policies will be guarantee issue.

While it is a great opportunity to secure coverage, the window of availability for this program is closing quickly.  As of August 20th, over 240 individuals have already been approved for coverage.  And, with underwriting approving 15-30 applications per day, the High Risk Pool could very well close its doors within 12 months–leaving many individuals without coverage.

In order to become a member of Medical Mutual’s High Risk Pool, it is imperative that individuals submit their applications immediately.  The stipulations to join the program, as determined by health care reform bill, are as follows:

• Must have been without coverage for more than six months.
• Must have a pre-existing condition that prevents one from securing private insurance.
• Must have been denied coverage by two or more carriers.
• Must NOT have group coverage available.

If you or anyone you know is a candidate for Medical Mutual of Ohio’s High Risk Pool, please visit www.OhioHighRiskPool.com.  The website, which is administered by Medical Mutual, offers details regarding the plans offered and the necessary steps to secure coverage.  Please feel free to contact an agent at Chaser Insurance Group for guidance when completing your application.  You can reach at agent direct and toll free, at (877)775-4321 or by emailing AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com.

Although the HHS has not disclosed the list of essential health benefits, it’s believed that these benefits will be issued in the coming weeks.  For details regarding these changes, please stay posted.

If you would like an affordable health insurance quote from a licensed independent and unbiased agent, please contact Chaser Insurance Group at (877)775-4321 or AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com.

The Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) has its similarities and differences with the HSA, and the biggest difference is there is no cash in an HRA. No real account that the employee can take with them.

Here are the key features of an HRA:

• Employers fund claims to an HRA as they come - they do not setup bank accounts and provide employees with cash.
• Qualified expenses to an HRA include anything covered under Section 213(d) of the IRC - which means anything that you can cover under an HSA
• There is one expense you can fund in an HRA, which you cannot fund in an HSA - Premiums for Individual Health Insurance Plans!

That is what is making the HRA a secret weapon for smart agents across the country. The employer can fund individual health insurance plans rather than setup a group plan by using an HRA. So…

• The premiums are deductible to the employer
• The premiums come to the employee on a tax free basis
• The employer can establish a fixed amount that they will contribute to the HRA (which they do not actually contribute until there are claims made) and the amount can be different for single employees and family employees.
• The employer can even setup different classes of employees and setup different contribution levels within the classes subject to discrimination testing.

HRA’s are a powerful tool that can help you sell more by bringing creative solutions to small businesses in your area.

For more information regarding small business, individual or family health insurance programs, please feel free to contact a licensed independent health insurance specialist of Chaser Insurance Group at (513)217-9491 or (877)775-4321.  You can also reach an agent by email at AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com. 

The pre-existing condition clause is actually defined as:

The overriding federal law that is the backdrop for the preexisting condition clause is called the Health Insurance and Accountability Act of 1996 passed by Congress during the Clinton Presidency.

It basically states that a preexisting condition can only be classified as a condition that was in effect six months prior to the effective date of the policy, and, further, it can only be excluded for one year after the effective date of the policy.

What does all this mean? When one completes an application for health insurance that provides full coverage, they are asked medical questions pertaining to their medical history. If a person is honest and lists a preexisting condition then it will simply follow the policy guidelines as to execution, however, if a person does not list a condition, through an admitted and “permission-sought” procedure, the insurance company can check a virtual medical bureau of people’s health called The Medical Information Bureau and through information seeking methods locate said medical history.

If we follow the procedures with respect to policy processing, I think we get more information than we bargained for. The person who assesses and approves a health application is called a medical underwriter. When a policyholder has a claim, it is processed by a claims examiner. Most companies spend more time examining claims than underwriting; the reason is obvious. At time of claim a preexisting condition may present itself or may lead to other conditions. The claim may show that the policyholder wasn’t honest at time of application necessitating a lot of expensive and time consuming research. If a person was dishonest enough, the policy may be “rescinded”; it never happened.

What a tragedy this truly is and my prayers are with this family during a very difficult time.  I have read many different comments and angles to how this is being handled and thoughts from different online forums.

As a health insurance agent I have heard many sides to this story in regards to the request for donations to cover the medical costs.  At first I too thought the same thing, “why someone like this would need help with medical costs due to the nature of his father’s celebrity status”, but you have to look at it from all different angles before jumping to conclusions.  We don’t know the families financial situation or the reason they do not have health insurance.

Health insurance is very complex and requires you to look at every situation separately.  In this particular situation, it is important to look at few things:

• Why did Joe Woods not have health insurance?
• If Joe Woods did not have health insurance, what is the reason?
• What can we learn from this?

If Joe Woods did not have health insurance it is either because he did not have a plan available through his parents employer, they had just determined that they did not want to have coverage due to the cost or Joe Woods was declined coverage when applying for an individual health insurance plan. 

I personally cannot speak to the status of the family’s financial situation or the absence of a group health insurance policy through an employer, but in regards to an individual health insurance plan I have some thoughts that may have applied to Joe and his family:

• If Joe woods would have had even an acute asthma attack within the last six months he would have been declined coverage for health insurance on an individual basis. This is based on most health insurance carriers underwriting guidelines. Although technically if the child was uninsured for more than six months and had been declined by more than two carriers, he would have been eligible for guaranteed issue insurance through the Ohio high risk pool that went into place on August 1, 2010.
• If it was an income situation, Joe Woods based on the Income guidelines for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in Ohio may have been eligible for health insurance through SCHIP if his family was within 200% of the federal poverty level.
• Another thought to take into consideration in the near future is as of September 23, 2010 Woods would have had another option. Based on the passing of the Implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) there is No discrimination against children with pre-existing conditions. The PPACA prohibits health plans from imposing pre-existing condition exclusions on children. We also expect that regulations will make clear that insurers must offer coverage to children regardless of their health status.

As you can see there are new options through the recent legislation that may have provided new opportunities for him to purchase insurance if he was unable to get it in the past.  The big question is would or will a family put a health insurance plan into place in the future in order to insure against the unthinkable happening.  Ultimately, it is not important whether Joe Woods had health insurance or not because even without coverage he received the care he needed and the care that he would have had with or without insurance.  Health insurance is a question of whether you want to insure yourself for financial reasons and not whether you want to be able to see a doctor or go to a hospital.

God bless Joe Woods and his family.  Hopefully we can all learn something from the loss.

For more information regarding small business, individual or family health insurance programs, please feel free to contact a licensed independent health insurance specialist of Chaser Insurance Group at (513)217-9491 or (877)775-4321.  You can also reach an agent by email at AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com. 

First, we need to understand the differences between Small Group health or employer sponsored health insurance and individual/family or private insurance. individual Health Insurance and Small Group health insurance is quite different in a few key ways:

1. First, it is governed by the state of Ohio and coverage is guaranteed issue to qualified small companies with 2-50 employees. This means that a person with a legitimate full time employer-employee relationship cannot be declined due to health.  This can become a problem if an employer would like to cover everyone and they have employees with major health concerns.
2. Individual/Family health insurance is quite different in this respect. Individuals must qualify based on health in a process called medical underwriting. They can be declined coverage have rates increased based on their health history or status. This difference in medical qualification is a big issue for small groups that pay for individual health insurance plans for their employees if the group is eligible or capable of providing group health.
3. Lower health Insurance Premiums through Individual Health Insurance Plans.  Because individual and family health insurance policies are individually underwritten, they most likely will be much less expensive.  But individuals can be declined coverage. 
4. Paying for individual health plans can be payed for pretax through a billing process called a “List Bill”, which is similar to the group health insurance billing process, but assumed that the employer is not paying for any of the premiums.  Although the employer must not pay any of the premium directly, all premiums can still be deducted as an employee deduction. 
5. Individual and Family health insurance polices can be customized.  Unlike a small group policy, an individual policy can be different for each and every employee.  Because the policy is owned by the employee and not the employer, they are able to choose the specific plan that meets there needs.
6. Individual and Family health insurance plans are portable unlike the small group health insurance plans.  Due to the fact that COBRA only applies to employers over 20 full time employees, if the employee would leave or become sick and be unable to work, they would not be eligible for keeping their coverage.

Determining what is right for you and your employees can be difficult.  The reality is every situation is different and in todays environment many times we are required to simply look at cost, but also weigh out how underwriting and your employer goals will be effected by your decision.  Each employers situation is different and you need to determine what is best for you and your employees.

For more information regarding small business, individual or family health insurance programs, please feel free to contact a licensed independent health insurance specialist of Chaser Insurance Group at (513)217-9491 or (877)775-4321.  You can also reach an agent by email at AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com. 

One of the more popular health insurance options among individuals, families and employers are the Health Savings Account (HSA) eligible plans.  An HSA is essentially a savings account with the sole purpose of covering medical expenses.  Because HSA contributions are 100% tax deductible, accumulating interest is tax-deferred, and withdrawals to cover qualified medical expenses are not subject to tax,  more individuals are moving their health insurance coverage toward HSA plans than any other type of policy. 

More often than not, an HSA eligible plan is going to be a high deductible health insurance plan.  Traditional health plans offer a copayment structure toward the cost of office visits, hospitalization, prescriptions, etc.  However, under a high deductible HSA eligible plan, the HSA is intended to cover such expenses, and do so at a low monthly premium.  Not only are HSAs used to meet the specified deductible, HSAs can also be used for services that may not be covered by a health insurance policy, such as dental and vision care, disability and long term care.

Listed below are some frequently asked questions regarding HSA rules:

Are there HSA contribution limits?

Yes.  Every year the IRS releases updated HSA contribution limits.  The maximum HSA contribution for 2010 is $3,050 for individuals and $6,150 for families. 

If one should exceed the maximum HSA contribution for the year, that excess amount is subject to tax as ordinary income and 6% excise tax.

What are the tax benefits associated with an HSA?

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>Withdrawals for HSA eligible expenses are not subject to federal income tax.

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 What is considered a “qualified medical expense”?

Most common expenses related to health care are covered by HSAs; however, see  IRS code, section 213(d) for details: http://www.usu.edu/hr/files/uploads/213%28d%29eligiblemedicalexpenses.pdf.

Also, see IRS Publications 502 and 969.

What happens to unused HSA contributions?

If at the end of the calendar year a member has money left over in his/her HSA, that money rolls over into the next year.   As well, if an HSA owner changes high deductible policies or banking institutions, that person can roll the HSA over to a new carrier and/or bank. 

At age 65 an HSA owner can withdrawal funds for any reason without penalty, aside from paying income tax for those non-related medical expenses. 

Can an HSA be used to pay health insurance premiums?

No.  This would qualify as a non-medical withdrawal and would be subject to tax and penalty.

Are there HSA management fees paid to the banking institution?

Yes.  Just as you would pay fees for a regular savings account, HSA owners are subject to the same conditions.  Management fees might include:

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<!–[if !supportLists]–>·         <!–[endif]–>Monthly account management

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For more information regarding HSAs and how an HSA can benefit you and your family, please feel free to contact a licensed independent health insurance specialist of Chaser Insurance Group at (513)217-9491 or (877)775-4321.  You can also reach an agent by email at AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com. 

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan exists to address “the challenges of people with pre-existing conditions… In general,” HHS said, “high risk pools provide coverage of last resort for people who, because of their health, are denied coverage by private insurers or are unable to purchase coverage in the individual market except at substantially surcharged premiums due to their health status, and are ineligible for public coverage.”

Currently, 35 states have high risk pools, which provide coverage to about 200,000 individuals, or about one percent of the individual market nationwide.

Key issues addressed in the interim final rule include:

Eligibility - Eligible individuals must:

• Be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or be lawfully present in the U.S.
• Not have had insurance coverage for the previous six months.
• Have a pre-existing condition that an insurer refused to provide coverage for, or have a rider that excludes coverage for that condition.

Premiums - Must be set so they:

• Equal the standard rate for anyone in the population with the same health conditions.
• Do not vary by age by more than 4 to 1.

State role - States are given flexibility in how to implement high risk pools.

• They may operate a new high risk pool alongside their current state high risk pool.
• If they don’t already operate a high risk pool, they may establish a new one.
• They may build on other existing coverage programs designed to cover high risk individuals.
• They may contract with a current HIPAA carrier of last resort, or another carrier, to provide subsidized coverage.
• They may do nothing, in which case HHS will provide a coverage program.

Funding

• The law appropriates $5 billion in federal funding to support this program.
• The formula for allocating funds to each state is “almost identical” to what was used for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): a combination of factors, including nonelderly population, nonelderly uninsured and geographic cost.
• Also like CHIP, funds will be reallocated after no more than two years, based on an assessment of actual enrollment.

Estimated state allotments for Ohio is $152 million

If you would like an affordable health insurance quote from a licensed independent and unbiased agent, please contact Chaser Insurance Group at (877)775-4321 or AF@HealthInsuranceChaser.com.