Great question. Short answer, yes.<p>First, the way things are structured tax-wise, C corporations get to deduct founder health insurance 100%, so that's the most tax-advantaged scenario. If you pay for your own personal health insurance or do it as a sole proprietorship, etc. you're basically getting a raw deal from Congress.<p>I'm in California, where basically any 2+ person small business that's been around about like 3-6 months is guaranteed group health insurance for its employees at no more than 10% over an index that represents what bigger companies pay. It's a sweet deal. So if you're in California and are going to go this route, you may want to incorporate ahead of time to start that clock ticking.<p>So basically the company pays for the insurance for the founders, even though they're not drawing a salary. And you get much more flexible options than through COBRA (naturally) or personal insurance.
I moved from Baltimore to Manila so that I could afford to pay my medical expenses in cash. By coming here, I've amplified my purchasing power ^2 and live more comfortably paying less. The birth of my daughter with complications and a c-section was just under $5000.00 USD, in a state of the art facility that rivals Hopkins itself (Google, "The Medical City Pasig City" to see it). A pediatric appointment costs me $10, medicine even less. I know my move was a little drastic, but it opened many doors. :)
Massachusetts has a law that (may) be going into effect on June 1- It requires that all citizens of Ma have health insurance.<p>They have two programs to deal with this- The first is Commonhealth, which provides free or subsidized health care to those who, in the last year, have made less than 300% of the federal poverty line. Many people who are currently students may be able to use this, and have their coverage be at no or very low cost.<p>For those people who don't qualify, As on May 1st there's a new program, Common Choice, which will be a private-public partnership, to try to bring 4 or 5 low-cost health care plans to everyone. Given that everyone in the state now needs health care, essentially the state is negotiating it's own group rates.<p>It's not a bad system, but it's still new. The Poor are covered for free. Employers with over 12 people are required to offer Health Insurance. People who work alone, or in a small startup, can get a plan for ~ $120/month.<p><a href="http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=hichomepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Qhic">http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=hichomepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Qhic</a>
-Colin
Group health insurance is one of the perks of having at least 2 founders. According to my insurance broker, we just need to people on payroll working at least 25 hours a week to qualify for a group plan. Healthy people in their 20's get better rates than the elderly. (Zuckerberg's real reason for only wanting to hire young people)
I'm under my wife's health insurance, but otherwise I would be paying out of pocket. Here are a few suggestions:<p>1) Individual health insurance. Try <a href="http://www.ehealthinsurance.com">http://www.ehealthinsurance.com</a> or <a href="http://www.integra-insurance.com">http://www.integra-insurance.com</a><p>2) Group insurance via a professional association. For example, IEEE: <a href="http://www.personal-plans.com/product/ieeeinsurance/">http://www.personal-plans.com/product/ieeeinsurance/</a>
It's quite expensive, but the coverage is excellent<p>3) If you're incorporated or LLC, you might be able to get a small-business plan through Costco or some other provider
I do. And so will all other founders who are Massachusetts residents as of July 1, 2007. (A new law requires all residents of the commonwealth to have health insurance by that date in order to avoid fines.)
This is actually one of the biggest strikes against YC in my pro/con table... I will likely have to take some F/F/F money in addition to the YC seed to make sure I will stay insured...
I did a startup and recently got acquired. Here's what I did.<p>I say get disaster health insurance (30 bucks a month) screw cobra. its too expensive.<p>if you're in MA, i hear you can get universal health care and suck on the teat of the taxpayer. If you're in CA, Blue shield is cheap. If you want bang for the buck, I suggest Kaiser.<p>Also helped that my girlfriend is about to become a surgeon so she and her friends had me pretty much covered for normal stuff.
Seems to me that if you're in the target demographic of a YC founder (mid 20s, no family obligations), then health insurance is not too much of an issue cost wise. In the states I've lived in FL and WI, my insurance has run around 100 to 130 per month. <p>Call an agent, fill out the forms... its all of a few hours of legwork. Welcome to running a business =).
I would rather lock myself up in a room with healthy food and finish the project than staying out of action due to sickness. I would rather cross my finger and possible request the germs to attack me later :D
I pay it out of pocket along with some life and disability insurance; I think it's worth the peace of mind to enhance creativity and not worry about "what ifs".