Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Article: Self-employed, and going it alone

My apologies for two non-shore posts in a row, but it's 8am, and I've already received four emails about an op/ed I wrote for today's Philadelphia Inquirer.

It's about the struggle self-insured folks have in trying to find affordable health insurance and how, at least in New Jersey, it's almost non-existent (depending on how you define "affordable.") I also know a lot of writers read this site, so it'll probably interest them as well.

You can read that commentary here.

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2 comments:

Frederick V. Pabst said...

Just read your entry and I'm shaking my head. This has become a real problem. The funny thing is, I just had this crisis myself. I work at a small ad agency full-time, and I can't afford the plan they offered me. I would be paying $800 a month for a family plan with no past injuries or preexisting conditions. So I purchased my own family plan online. It is a HSA high deductible plan ($3800) which saves me about 6 grand a year in premiums, but I seriously feel that this is insane. Health care insurance is spiraling out of control. I am a professional with 6+ years of experience and I can't afford to insure my family through my full time profession? I thought of going the other way–freelancing my way to running my own design business, but now your recent post has me thinking if it's any better on the other side.

Maybe everyone should boycott paying for health insurance until companies offer sensible options to the growing poor and dwindling middle classes. This problem needs to be corrected, so everyone can have decent access to affordable health care. Something has got to give.

Stan Horwitz said...

Jen, I just read your op ed piece in the Inquirer, and I found it truly disheartening. I hope that your creative spirit isn't squelched just because our nation's leaders can't find the resolve to put this health care crisis to rest.

This country suffers from a dearth of creative minds, so you are a rare breed. After reading several articles on your web site, it is clear that you are a fine author. Keep up the good work! I hope an end to this health care crisis occurs sooner rather than later. You deserve better than having to put off going to the doctor because of your lousy health care insurance.

By the way, I couldn't help but notice you are a Mac user. So am I. If you want to learn more about Macs, consider stopping by a MUGSNJ meeting sometime. Info is at http://www.mugsnj.org