Freelancing for a Living? Here's How to Find Health Insurance

The benefits of being self-employed can include flexibility and being your own boss. The amount of money you make is directly related to how often you’re working, and you get to set your own hours.

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Many traditional companies provide health insurance coverage for employees, but if you’re self-employed, it might feel more challenging to get health insurance coverage for yourself.

As with many things, the answer to this question depends on your state. Many states have health insurance marketplaces where you can select a health insurance plan for yourself and pay for it out of pocket. Monthly premium costs also vary by state and your income level.

It’s not an actual marketplace with vendors and booths placed in an open-air space, but it can be helpful to think of it this way. When you sign up for an account at your state’s health insurance marketplace website, you may be allowed to browse plans during an open enrollment period. The options you see are tied to individual health insurance companies, and you might see names you recognize, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Fallon, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealthcare and Anthem.

Signing Up for Health Insurance If You’re Self-Employed

A good place to start is at Healthcare.gov. This is where you can enter your state and be directed to the website where you can sign up for coverage through your state’s marketplace.

When you apply for health coverage, you’ll be asked to supply a lot of information about yourself, including basic information about your health history, age and income. When you select self-employment for your occupation, you’ll likely be asked to add more details about the nature of the work. For example, if you clean houses, you might write a “house cleaning.” If you write or edit for private clients or content agencies, you might say “freelance writer” or “freelance editor.”

In general, your income determines what coverage you qualify for. For example, you might qualify for premium tax credits depending on your state, income level and family size. Qualifying for these credits can help offset the cost of your monthly premium.

Depending on your income and family size, you may also qualify for free or low-cost health care through Medicaid programs in your state.

You’ll find out what you qualify for when you apply for coverage through your state’s health insurance marketplace website.

Estimated Income

When you’re self-employed, it can be hard to know how much money you’re making at any given time. These amounts may increase during busier seasons and drop during slower times. The health insurance marketplace application asks you to estimate your net income for the upcoming year — it's not based on the previous year.

The amount you provide doesn’t have to be exact, but you should do your best to be accurate. You can base your estimate on income you earned in previous years, industry standards and your own realistic expectations. If you think your income will end up being significantly lower or higher than what you originally thought, you can always update it later in the year.

More Related Articles:

• What Is Open Enrollment?
• Do I Have to Change Doctors If I Change Insurance?
• Why Doesn’t Health Insurance Cover Vision and Dental?
• Can I Get Insurance After Open Enrollment?
• What Is a Qualifying Life Event?

Confirming Self-Employment Income

Depending on your state, you may be asked to verify your self-employment income, and that can be hard to do if you’re paid in nontraditional ways, such as PayPal or Venmo. If you’re asked to supply a self-employment ledger, you can send a spreadsheet, a document from an accounting software program or copies of pages from a handwritten ledger book.

PayPal also offers tools for self-employed freelancers that let you export a record of withdrawals and deposits. Venmo offers monthly account statements as well and lets you download a list of the transactions as a CSV file.

As a self-employed freelancer, you’re likely keeping your own records of income and invoices you send your clients anyway, so use this information to help you estimate. Tax information from previous years can help you determine or predict your income, too.

Shopping for Plans

After your application is accepted and your income is verified, you’ll have an opportunity to choose a plan through your state’s health insurance marketplace. When you browse plans, you’ll be able to compare monthly premiums.

The last step before enrolling is to pay your first month’s premium. Later, you'll receive a health insurance card in the mail or by email. Your insurance company also usually requires you to have a primary care physician listed, so you may have to choose a doctor.

State health insurance marketplace websites typically offer support, so you can contact someone for personalized assistance if you need it.