Managing health care costs as a 1099

This year my company's health insurance premiums went up by 14%.

Right now I pay around $25,000 per year for my me, my wife, and kid for a top plan. It's crazy.

Paying for your own healthcare is one of those things that scares aspiring 1099s.

I agree it is scary, particularly if you are the main or only earner for your house and you have dependents. The costs add up quick!

But health care costs are just a cost to be factored in.

Relying on fear is not a good way to make a decision about going 1099.

So here are things you should do:

• Get quotes for health insurance on ehealthinsurance.com. Find an acceptable plan and use that as your baseline
• Determine how much health care you actually use. If you're young and health and never go to the doctor, switch to a high deductible plan and then just said save a little extra money for surprise health care incidents
• If you're married and your spouse is a W2 employee with a health care plan, see if you can join that plan. It will almost certainly be cheaper
• Find alternative sources of health care. If you're a veteran or reservist, you may be eligible for VA health care. If you're an actor and a member of the Screen Actor's Guild, you can even join their health plan
• Find 1099 gigs with higher bill rates. The higher the bill rate, the more you can afford health care
• If you're on your first 1099 gig and just left your company, see if you're eligible for COBRA. You can keep the same health insurance plan you're on as long you pay the same premiums. This could be lower than the market rate.

Health care can be very expensive, but if your government contracting company was paying for it and still making money, you can still earn more money as a 1099 while paying for your own plan.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.