Episode 296: What to Do About Insurance as a Virtual Assistant

Full Episode Transcription:

Arianna Vernier: One of the biggest questions that I get for everybody who’s interested in becoming a virtual assistant is like, okay, but what do you do about health insurance as a VA. So a lot of people think it’s going to be ridiculously expensive and that’s what really keeps them from leaving their nine to five, but this is not necessarily the case. I’ve done a couple different episodes on health insurance and just different insurance options as a virtual assistant before, but I like to do a refresher every now and then, because I know not all of y’all are going to scroll all the way back to the previous episode. So here’s our refresher. Now, disclaimer before I share these options with you today is I’m not an insurance broker. So I do recommend working with one to make sure that your specific needs for yourself and your family are met. But this is just something to consider. In many situations, when you’re paying for your insurance, it just gets deducted monthly from your income. And so it gets deducted straight from your paycheck before it hits your bank account. So you don’t actually see that amount that is taken out a lot of times. So it may actually be costing you a lot out of pocket per month that you’re not even fully aware of because you don’t see it hit your bank account and then get taken out.

Arianna Vernier: Now, every state has different plans that are accessible to residents, so you’ll have to do some research to see what plans are available in your state. And this is where an insurance broker can be very helpful. But every plan, every different plan, has different pros and cons. Some plans have a low monthly premium, but the deductible is higher. Others have a high premium, but a smaller deductible. So, I just think that if you’re looking at different plans, you want to consider, am I likely to hit that high deductible? If you’re not likely to hit it, then you can go with that high deductible plan because it’s going to cost you less month to month. Also something to look into and consider is getting a health savings account or an HSA, which are able to be set up if you have a high deductible insurance plan. Now, there’s requirements that the plan needs in order to be met, which those, those requirements are set by the IRS. So again, this is where an insurance broker can really help you.

Arianna Vernier: Now, with an HSA account, again, money is being taken out of your account. Paycheck before you even see it and it’s going into that hsa account, but it’s going in there before It is taxed at all. So like your state income tax those kinds of things is going in there without being taxed So you’re basically getting more of your money and then you can use your hsa account for different Medical needs and there’s a list you could easily Google to see like what these funds can actually be applied to so you can check that out. But it’s really nice because you don’t have taxes taken out of that money. It goes straight into that account tax free and then you get to use it on whatever medical needs apply. from that list. Now there is a max that you can contribute per year and I think it just depends on what HSA you have so that’s something to look into as well. There’s also the option of getting marketplace insurance which is available in every state. It’s operated by the federal government and depending on your income you might be able to get it subsidized or have tax credits applied which will reduce your payments. So you can find plans like that are 200 a month with no deductible.

Arianna Vernier: It really just fluctuates depending on your specific situation. Another great option to consider is co ops, where you pay into the program each month. And basically your payments to be a part of the co op, your share that you paid is being Contributed to other people’s direct needs each month, so you still get an insurance card. It operates kind of like insurance, so you can use it when you have doctor’s appointments, pregnancies, emergencies, et cetera, and your cost sharing with people. So the payment you’re making each month is going towards other people’s medical needs to help them like. Be able to financially afford it. And then if you have an issue, then you just submit a itemized receipt and then the money that other people have contributed will go towards paying your bill, if that makes sense. Now, this is going to be our choice when we are eventually ready to get health insurance right now. We have it through my husband’s job, but he plans to actually quit his nine to five, hopefully soonish. So we will be going with a cost. Sharing program called Christian Health Care Ministries, the only the only qualifications for the Christian Health Care Ministry is that you have to fill out a moral integrity slash faith survey, just sharing that information. You accept Jesus as your personal savior, that you believe in God, all that. And yeah, then we will contribute, we will pay monthly and then any issues that we have arise, we will just submit a receipt and then CHM will reimburse those funds. So I know a family of six who is. who uses this program and they pay 550 a month with a 6, 000 deductible. They could have gotten it as cheap as 300 a month if they chose the 12, 000 deductible, but they wanted that smaller deductible. So they chose to pay a little bit more every month.

Arianna Vernier: You could also choose to go with the no insurance route. A lot of places, if you tell them you’re paying with cash, they discount it like quite a bit, but this is somewhat risky because you’re praying that they’re going to discount it. Again, a lot of places will, but you, you just want to verify that they will before you have an issue and end up paying tons of money out. out of pocket. So this is just something to be aware of. Again, I’m not an insurance broker. Please talk to someone. They will help you. And a lot of times they don’t even, insurance brokers don’t even charge, like unless you go with a plan with them, like you don’t even actually end up paying them. They just get a commission from the insurance company that you like bought the plan from. So, you can usually talk to insurance brokers for no fee from you. So I hope this answered a lot of your questions. if you have any questions about this, post them in the Facebook group and I’ll try to help you find the answers you’re looking for. But I just want to really encourage you that if you want to quit your nine to five, if you want to be that present mom, you can absolutely do so.

Arianna Vernier: You can still have all of your medical needs met and taken care of. You don’t have to be scared. It’s really not as. It’s as scary as it seems. I also want to invite you, if you are ready to step into the virtual assistant world and to start pivoting out of your 9 to 5, or even if you just want to do this as a side hustle, I really encourage you to come and check out the Virtual Assistant Mama Academy. We’ve got some amazing bonuses happening this week that are only valid through this Friday. And, Seriously, you will get the entire game plan that you need to become a successful and profitable virtual assistant. You can check out all the details of what’s included in the Virtual Assistant Mama Academy at virtualassistantmama.com or find that link in the show notes. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about that. I’d love to answer them for you and let you know if I think this would be a good fit for you or not. All right, y’all. Thank you so much for listening to this episode and we will see you next time.