Want to Become Solopreneur - But, What about Medical Insurance, So Hang on as Employee Until Medicare

 With knowledge-work jobs scarce and employers having the upper hand at a time of raw capitalism, more smart people are considering becoming a solopreneur. That is, you run your own business, but without partners or employees. Having no payroll gives you flexibility, which is a key factor driving the decision to go the solopreneur route.

Overall, the odds of success are excellent for the almost 30 million solopreneurs in the US. Almost 80% are profitable the first year and half only needed $5,000 or less for the startup.

But the 2026 obstacle in taking that leap from being an employee at an organization with healthcare insurance coverage to business ownership is taking on the expense of paying the total nut for your healthcare insurance coverage. The Wall Street Journal documents:

"Expanded subsidies for those insured under the ACA expired on Dec. 31 ... The typical enrollee with subsidized ACA coverage is projected to face a 114% rise in premium bills if they stay on the same plan, KFF projects, from an average of $888 a year in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026. The dollar increases are often far higher for the middle-income and upper-middle-income families with this type of coverage."

Read the last line carefully. If you're successful, that is, earning more than a certain amount through your business, you could be "penalized" with higher rates.

Sure, lawmakers could take this up again. There is lots of lobbying going on. But right now the monthly expense could be your number-one cost burden.

The risk of going without coverage is this: bankruptcy. More than 60% of all personal bankruptcies are filed because of medical debt. One illness can wipe you out without health insurance.

That's exactly why those I coach are trying to hold on as employees until they reach age 65. That's when Medicare kicks in. Combine that with one of those free supplements such as from United Healthcare and your financial liability could be limited to about $6,500 annually. The prescription coverage also provides many medications at no cost. 

Another option, goes the joke, is marry someone with great medical insurance coverage. Get on their policy and hustle away at your enterprise.

A third is to become part of a trade group which arranges a good deal in what you'll pay for coverage. For several years, before Medicare, I did just that. For a while it was a sweet situation. Then less and less so.

Back at the end of the 1980s, when laid off as redundant in a merger, I decided I would never be laid off again. Despite the challenges, I have remained a solopreneur. 

Success is a mental game. Failure comes from being done in by the “committee” in your head.

Together, we liberate your thinking. Then we change your story. And, unleash success. Meanwhile, we focus on bringing in income. That puts you in a position of strength.

Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, becoming a solopreneur and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). Yes, test out the chemistry. Zero risk.

Don’t give up before the miracle. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

America Not Hiring in 2026: Back to Golden Age of Solopreneurs?

 For hiring, 2025 was a brutal year to search for a job. The Wall Street Journal reports that 2026 could be worse: "At a gathering of CEOs in Midtown Manhattan this month organized by the Yale School of Management, 66% of leaders surveyed said they planned to either fire workers or maintain the size of their existing teams next year. Only a third indicated they planned to hire." The WSJ adds that pullback from adding manpower could be temporary. But given shareholders' demand for cost-efficiency and the continual improvements in AI, chronic unemployment could become standard. However, there is a solution. An old-fashioned one. That's becoming a solopreneur, that is setting up your own business without partners or employees. The model dates back to ancient times.  The golden age of the solo business owner in America had been from the late 1800s to about the mid 1920s.  There had been a wave of immigrants, discrimination against them and few jobs. They drove pushcarts ...
Read more

Newly Minted PhDs in Economics Face Unwelcoming Job Market: Of Course, I Left My PhD in Humanities Off the Resume

Monitor postings on Reddit subunits focused on careers and it's no longer news that PhDs, both newly minted and those already in the labor market, generally are finding the credential an obstacle in the search for a job or even contract assignments. No, not an asset.  Let's cut to the chase. The highly educated have to get smart about this, fast. With some exceptions, I advise those I coach to leave the PhD off job-search materials. The negative assumptions among those hiring range from that you expect too much money to you'll be a know-it-all.  When my boutique collapsed post-9/11 and I had to land a survival job I lopped off everything but the BA. At the interview I dumbed-down my vocabulary. Sure Harvard was started in 1636 but America remains anti-intellectual. In addition, the integration of AI into strategy and operations makes knowledge work in general less and less marketable.  That's the narrative of our times: Advanced degrees having low or no ROI. The result,...
Read more

Mr. Paul Weiss Goes to Washington

In college, backgrounders state that Brad Karp, the long-time chair of law firm Paul Weiss, toyed with the idea of a career path in politics. The specific focus was about running for Congress. Instead, though, he accepted admission to Harvard Law School (turned down the one to Yale) and that was that. Now, during the current crisis for law firms, under comprehensive attack by the Trump administration, Karp seems to be showcasing his inner politico. The guy is a smart strategist. Semafor reports that Karp has gone to Washington. There his objective seems to be to create lines of communication with a power force which, as Steve Bannon puts it, wants his firm and other elite firms out of business. Already Paul Weiss has lost one client as a result of an Executive Order. One way he is trying to connect, notes Semafor:  "Karp ... is discussing a particular path back into the administration’s good graces: helping the White House respond to alleged instances of antisemitism that came...
Read more