Ask HN: Startup Health and Dental Insurance? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Startup Health and Dental Insurance?

4 pointsniggler8 comments

What are people doing for health and dental insurance? I'm turning 26 and won't be able to leverage my parents' insurances soon ...

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A little more information is required to be helpful. For example, where are you located? Health insurance varies greatly by state. Are you the owner of the startup? If so, are their cofounders? Usually group insurance is a possibility and if all the cofounders are young and single it is usually pretty inexpensive. If it is just you then do you have any expensive pre-existing conditions? If not, then individual insurance is pretty cheap if you are young and single. Although that can vary by state.

Or you could just risk it until January when mandatory insurance coverage goes into effect.

Based in New York, owner of the startup, have two employees that are in a similar position (under 26, covered under parents' insurance) and we are trying to decide whether it makes sense to individually continue an extra year using COBRA or just dive into a group plan now.

That's interesting, I didn't know that COBRA applied when moving off of a parents plan like that. As a general rule, COBRA will be a lot more expensive than an individual plan, unless pre-existing conditions are involved, especially if you are young. In all likelihood it will also be more expensive than a group plan in your case. I don't know how New York works, but in Maryland small businesses can enroll in a small group health plan. Costs are based on the average age of the employees in the company. Can pick the level of benefits. More expensive than an individual plan for young people, but the benefits are usually better and you have all of the standard group health protections.

I don't normally advocate this because I really dislike the "agent" concept in insurance, but a local insurance agent can probably help you pick the best option.

If you are mostly healthy, in New York I would suggest a basic emergency care plan from Blue Cross and a membership to One Medical. The main reason for comprehensive health coverage at your age is if you have chronic conditions which require expensive medications. With an emergency care plan, you are covered if you get hit by a bus, and with One Medical you can easily pop in to see the doctor if you get the flu or just want a checkup for whatever reason.

http://www.onemedical.com/nyc

You bring up an intriguing option. Since none of us have kids, this is a great stop-gap measure before scaling up.

Did you end up choosing something? I fall under the same boat - turning 26 in a few days. Startup founder in NYC but no one else currently needs insurance on my team.

COBRA is ridiculously expensive. Go on ehealthinsurance and find yourself a plan. You'll be able to get something minimal for cheap and something comprehensive for mostly affordable prices.

Dental insurance is usually worthless. Check the yearly max benefit. I usually find it's $1000 and I would pay $35/mo. So I'm gambling $400 that I'll spend more than $400 in a year, in hopes of winning at most $600. No thanks.

For medical, I like shopping on http://www.ehealthinsurance.com . They have pretty good rates but it's usually worth to double-check with the provider's site after you settle on one.

Also don't bother getting maternity coverage. Plans have a 12-month waiting period and by that time, Obamacare will have mandated coverage for everyone.

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