Will Health Care Reform Affect Self Employment?
Barack Obama’s Plan Could Directly Address Independent Contractors
Jul 14, 2009
President Barack Obama has been a strong voice for health care reform, and his current legislature is a very hot topic in Washington politics. For those who live the daily life of self employment, however, talking about topics doesn’t do a whole lot of good. Independent contractors need affordable individual policies that provide good coverage…and that’s something most of them just don’t have in today’s health care system. Will plans for health care reform have any affect on self employment at all?
The Trouble With Self Employment and Health Care
One of the biggest burdens in self employment is the cost of health care. Not only do independent contractors pay an extra tax, buy their own equipment and provide their own work space, they have to purchase expensive individual health care policies that often provide under-par coverage. There is no special self employment insurance provided by the big health care companies; there is no employer or independent contractor group that might help alleviate or share these costs. There is only the professional, all alone. Is health care reform the answer to this monumental self employment problem?
The President’s Health Care Plan
President Obama’s Web site offers a very brief overview of how and why health care needs to change in the United States, outlining the main points that have been highlights of his speeches. In a recent television appearance, Obama acknowledged that the self employed are a “growing part of our population” and emphasized the importance of providing affordable policies for those who have the burden of purchasing their own plans without any employer support.
Reforming Health Care and Health Insurance
Obama’s intention to reform health care could provide affordable coverage and more options for health care policies. The proposed plan could even provide a public policy that will require more insurance companies to compete for the business they’ll receive from independent contractors.
Even under this plan, however, it will be the sole responsibility of the self employed professionals to purchase their own policies either through a provider or through the government (provided the public option does eventually come to pass). In other words, don’t expect much in the way of free health care. Insurance is still going to cost money. At best, the President’s reform plan could help alleviate some of the cost of maintaining those individual policies.
This, however, is more hopeful than any of the government-sponsored health care plans that have come along in the past. And while politicians continue to bandy the issue back and forth across Congressional floors, self employed professionals continue to pay heavy health care expenses out of pocket. An online petition is open for those who want to make their wishes known to the politicians who are debating. Will the President’s plan fix everything that’s wrong with self employed health care? Maybe not…but it does offer a spark of hope that independent contractors haven’t had in many, many years.
