Friday, February 02, 2007
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The New Health Insurance SolutionAuthor: Paul Zane Pilzer
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About This Book
You no longer need a traditional employer plan to get good, affordable health insurance argues Paul Zane Pilzer, an economist, professor and author. The New Health Insurance Solution: How to Get Cheaper, Better Coverage Without a Traditional Employer Plan offers ideas to cut your health insurance costs in half if you’re self-employed, an independent contractor, or your employer doesn’t provide health insurance. According to the author, you may be able to get coverage on your own for about $94 each month—a fraction of what employers pay for the same coverage.
If you are employed and pay extra to cover your spouse or children under your employer-sponsored plan, the author suggests you could save 50% by taking them off your employer plan and he offers some alternatives for their coverage. If you own a small business and are getting killed by double-digit premium increases, he offers advice on giving employees tax-free money to buy their own plans and to get your company out of the health insurance business.
The book explains some solutions for finding affordable health insurance if you or a family member have an expensive preexisting medical problem. For instance, your state may have a program to provide guaranteed coverage. If you are putting money into an IRA or a 401(k), the author suggests that a tax deductible Health Savings Account (HSA) might be a better option.
The New Health Insurance Solution offers tips on affording health insurance during retirement and how to maximize benefits from Medicare, including the new Part D prescription drug plan. While the advice in this book will not work for everyone, the author lays out some intriguing ways get affordable health care without employer coverage.
Piltzer is an economist, a former advisor in two White House administrations, an entrepreneur/employer, an adjunct professor at New York University and a New York Times bestselling author.