This was asked a while back, and had some interesting responses, so here's a link to the last discussion: <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=8676" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=8676</a>
I've got Unicare's cheapest plan and pay about $80/month. It'll cover anything terrible, and otherwise I'm an active healthy vegetarian non-smoking 30-something male. Women pay more in this age range, but not a huge amount more.<p>If you can't handle paying $30 co-pay for doctors visits, and similar on prescriptions, and having no dental or vision, then you're probably not quite ready to dive into business--unless you raise money. You do need health insurance. A single illness can wipe out your company in very short order--and not just because you're not on the job while recovering. The corporate veil is thin very early on, and if you've got corporate money in the bank, your debtors will want it.
Can be very state dependent. <p>If you're non-smoking 22, you should be able to get catastrophic coverage ($5,000+ deductible) starting around $80/month (but more like $110 if you want it from a company you've heard of)<p>Vermont on the other hand, $5,000 deductible HSA's are $191, so it definitely depends.<p>None of these plans will have much (any) in the way of preventative care, etc. And a broken arm will come right out of your pocket for a couple k. You're max should be 5k if you get something terrible.<p>For a full featured plan I'd budget $400+. When I quit, my CORBA rate was going to be $542/month. (That's what my employer was paying for me)
Here's a thought: In most Western countries health is supplied for "free" by the government (which deducts a premium from people's taxes). Such a person has no option to temporarily stop paying for health services, but an American can take that gamble. I wonder if this option amounts to another slight advantage that American startups can have over other Western countries? Namely the option to increase your wages slightly for a while in exchange for a reduced health service.
As a technology startup why would I want "heath" insurance? I'm not likely to need extensive tracts of uncultivated open land covered with herbage and low shrubs.<p><a href="http://www.answers.com/heath&r=67" rel="nofollow">http://www.answers.com/heath&r=67</a>
Soon I will be out of school and won't be able to get health insurance from sources like parents or school. Does anyone have a suggestions for how they got health insurance, or what is a good method for finding a good provider? Also, how much did it cost?
In Calfornia at least, HealthNet is less expensive than some others. Assuming you rarely go in, get a PPO, and you won't go bankrupt if you ever have large medical bills. For little things you pay out of pocket.
First of all, you're 23+ and ante-ing up in the big game so stop f-cking around. This means no fights, no drinking & driving and quit doing the stupid shit that impressed girls when you were 15.<p>This will seriously reduce your need for insurance. <p>If you don't have the stones to live with bad insurance (unless you have serious prescription needs) you probably can't handle the risk associated with starting a company anyway.<p>There are cheap policies that keep my parents from flipping out. I pay $37 a month through anthem.