More health care relief for freelancers

The good news for the self-employed, temporarily employed, under-employed, and other workers who buy their own health insurance keeps on coming:

As I mentioned in a recent post, starting this week, freelancers and other “businesses of one” in Washington state will be able to qualify for group health insurance plans.

In addition, last week marked the six-month anniversary of the signing of the new federal health care bill, ushering in a handful of welcome changes to U.S. health plans for employees and self-employed alike. (Goodbye, lifetime coverage limits and the ability of insurance companies to drop customers who are sick or to deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions! Hello, free mammograms, free cholesterol screenings, and free immunizations for kids!)

And this week, President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act, which among other small business tax breaks, gives freelancers, small business owners, and other self-employed folks a deduction for the cost of their health insurance — and that of their family members — on their 2010 self-employment taxes.

[Read the rest of this post on NWjobs.com]

6 comments October 1st, 2010