Florida residents that are self employed and looking for health insurance have a number of options available to them. Be aware that depending upon your health, your age, and other factors unique to your particular situation there is no hard and fast rule as to which option is best for you. However, there are some general guidelines that will help you make the best Florida self employed health insurance decision.

The first Florida health insurance option available to the self employed is to simply apply for an individual health insurance policy. The benefit to applying for an individual health insurance policy is that individual health insurance rates in Florida are very competitive.

The downside to attempting to purchase an individual health insurance policy in the state of Florida is that you must be healthy. According to FL law, a health insurance company can decline your application for an individual health insurance policy based on prior medical history (pre-existing conditions), height and weight restrictions, and other health related criteria.

That means if you have cancer, diabetes, weight problems, or a host of other physical ailments then you will be denied coverage with a Florida individual health insurance policy. (Any unscrupulous agent that tries to tell you other wise is misrepresenting whatever product he or she is trying to sell you as health insurance when in fact it is probably a discount health plan or a health insurance indemnity plan with very limited coverage).

The second Florida health insurance option available to the self employed is to apply for a Florida group health insurance plan. In Florida, any group of 2 employer/employees or more is considered eligible for a Florida small group health insurance. (If it is just you: 1 self employed person functioning as a sole proprietor in the state of Florida then you have a different option open to you – see option 3 below). The benefit to applying for a Florida small group health insurance policy is that that certain health issues that can signal an automatic decline on the individual health insurance side will not signal an automatic decline on the group health insurance side.

The downside to attempting to purchase a group health insurance policy in the state of Florida is that it can be very expensive. Think of it in terms of: the more potentially unhealthy people that the insurance company has to give health insurance to (group health insurance) the higher the premiums will be as opposed to where the insurance company can pick and choose who they will accept for health insurance (individual health insurance).

The third Florida health insurance option available to the self employed is for those that are functioning as a sole proprietor. Florida self employed sole proprietors can apply for a Florida guaranteed issue small group health plan. The Florida guaranteed issue small group health plans has an open enrollment period only during the month of August.

Florida self employed health insurance can be a somewhat tricky area to navigate without the help of a licensed independent Florida health insurance agent. There are also many different ways to save money in taxes – one of which being the ability to deduct your health insurance premiums paid on Schedule C of your tax return against and up to your Schedule C income (Meaning that even if you don’t itemize [Schedule A] you can still deduct your health insurance premiums paid all the way up to your Schedule C income!).

By: Joel Ohman