As a self-employed person, it can be a burden to research health insurance options that meet your needs. Between copays, deductibles, tax credits, and coverage, there’s a lot to understand. The good news is that there are several different healthcare tools for freelancers that can help you make the most informed decisions for your health insurance needs. We’ve researched a few of them below.
1. HealthCare.gov tool for figuring out premium tax credits
For many self-employed people, purchasing a plan on a government-run exchange is the easiest option. In some cases, you may qualify for a premium tax credit. This is a refundable tax credit that helps low or moderate income people and families afford health insurance. The tax credit is a sliding scale credit where lower income people receive a larger credit. HealthCare.gov offers one of the healthcare tools for freelancers we researched. This tool allows people to calculate their premium tax credit and find a second lowest cost Silver plan (SLCSP).
The Marketplace will compute an estimated credit, which is then paid to the insurance company to lower your monthly premiums. This serves as an advance payment of premium tax credits. You can also choose to get the entire benefit of the credit once you file your annual tax return.
2. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator
The KFF Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator gives you an estimate for how much health insurance premiums will be in your region along with subsidies available. This tool is for people who are purchasing health insurance for themselves and their families on a government-run exchange. All you need is your age, family size, and income to get an estimate for any subsidies you may qualify for and what the cost of health insurance may be. The tool can also be used to estimate one’s eligibility for Medicaid. Of all the healthcare tools for freelancers, this one can be a helpful way to get a handle on health care costs. Always remember to confirm information regarding Medicaid with your state’s Medicaid office as eligibility requirements sometimes vary by state.
3. Health Savings Account (HSA) Calculators
HSAcenter.com offers three different healthcare tools for freelancers and other people looking for information about HSAs. The site has three different HSA calculators that can help you determine whether it’s worth it to use an HSA (which requires a high deductible health plan or HDHP). HSA plans offer tax-advantaged savings accounts where people can contribute funds that can be used to pay for health expenses. HSA plans are owned by you and remain yours even when you change plans or move. HSAs offer individuals the opportunity to create tax-advantaged savings that can be used for both current and future health expenses.
The site offers an HSA Tax Savings Calculator to help you estimate your tax savings from holding an HSA. All you need to use it is your tax status, the amount you plan to contribute to an HSA, and your income. You can also use the HSA Future Value Calculator, which estimates how much you’ll save for your future health care needs. You need a few more pieces of information for this one, including:
- Your HSA Contribution Per Year
- Your HSA Deductible & Other Qualified Medical Expenses Per Year
- Your Accumulated HSA Savings Per Year
- Years to Accumulate
- Your Federal Tax Bracket
- Your State Tax
- Estimated Rate of Return on Your HSA
The last tool is the HSA Plan Comparison Calculator, which allows you to compare your current health plan to an HSA plan to see side-by-side costs. Check out the site to use one or more of these healthcare tools for freelancers.
4. Decent’s free health insurance quote tool
If you’re self-employed and living in the Austin, Texas area, we highly recommend checking out our online health insurance quote tool. Yes, we’re biased, and yes, this will provide quotes for our health insurance plans. Here’s the thing — we know health insurance for freelancers inside and out. We recognized that the options for self-employed health insurance were lacking and that the existing options were becoming more and more expensive. We decided to fix that.
We offer some of the most affordable, comprehensive health insurance plans in Austin, Texas. Did you know our plans are up to 40% below market rate? Or that our plans all include unlimited free primary care visits? Or how about that our plans are available to everyone, even those with pre-existing conditions? If this sounds intriguing, we have even better news: we offer year-round open enrollment. If you’re looking to switch health insurance plans or to start something new, get your free quote today.
