Chicago Freelance Writer Weighs New Health Care Options

As a freelance writer living in Chicago, I feel lucky to be able to make a living doing something I love in the third biggest city in the U.S. I'm one of those happy-go-lucky, perpetually poor artist types who hang around coffee shops and bookstores and still has a roommate at almost 30 years old. In a lot of ways, I'm living the dream. I work hard for what I have and don't mind one bit.

Current insurance options for people like me

Like most freelancers, I have no health insurance. I've looked into it, and it's not impossible. Aetna offers insurance plans for self-employed artists and writers with varying degrees of coverage. For someone my age in Illinois, I could get really lousy insurance for $120 a month or really decent insurance for $200 per month. One of the financial goals I hope to achieve in the next few years is to have enough extra money to not only stop charging my cell phone bill, but to buy into one of these plans.

When the health care bill passed on March 21, I thought that this would finally be my chance to get coverage. As it turns out, I'm still too poor.

Insurance options under the new health care reform

I made just more than $16,000 last year, which is very low by most people's standards. Considering that I have a graduate school education, my paltry income should embarrass me, too. But remember that part where I said I was living my dream? Writing for a living is tough, and it takes time to build any business.

Under the new health care reform bill, I can buy into an insurance plan and receive a tax credit based on my income to offset the expense. That's fine, but I would have to pony up the cash for the plan right away. If I bought a plan tomorrow, I wouldn't see a tax credit for another year. Should I put my health insurance on a credit card like everything else I can't afford? Will that tax credit cover my 15 percent interest rate?

Freelancers and taxes

Because I don't have the cash on hand to buy a health insurance plan, that means no coverage for me. When it comes time for the IRS to assess my penalty (and they will in 2014), I hope my income is low enough so that it doesn't make a difference. Otherwise, I'll have to get even more creative with my write-offs.

Most people don't realize that freelancers get hit hard at tax time. It doesn't matter if we make next to nothing. We still have to pay 20 percent of our income, even if the same income reported by a regular employee would qualify that person for a full refund. Add to that a $60 fee for filing a special self-employment form, and another thing to pay for is only going to be another expense that keeps health insurance unaffordable.

A sad story

Last summer, I got bitten pretty badly by one of my cats. I was in perfect health, and I cleaned the wound immediately. But it was one of those freak accidents where nothing went right from the beginning, and I ended up in the hospital with cellulitis for five days. Many, many drugs later, I left with my foot still attached to my leg and a bill I couldn't pay.

Thankfully, they're happy to call and remind me of my debt every couple of hours so I don't forget. One nice lady informed me that although I don't currently qualify, if I got pregnant right away, Medicaid would take care of my hospital bill. I've since stopped answering their calls.

On the bright side...

The health care bill does allocate $11 billion to community health clinics, so us poor folk might be able to see a doctor for less than a life-threatening emergency someday. And with student loan forgiveness pushed from 25 years to 20, I might just live long enough to take advantage of the shorter lines at the neighborhood clinic.

Resource:

H. R. 4872, The Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010