[Hidden-tech] found the answer

[Edbride-PR]

Whatever it's called, I am eligible for the coverage I have because of 
membership in the Chamber.

Ed
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jan Werner" <jwerner at jwdp.com>
To: "Edbride-PR" <Ed at edbride-pr.com>
Cc: "'Tom / Reelife Productions'" <tomadams at gmail.com>; "'Hidden-Tech Tech'" 
<hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] found the answer


> That hasn't been true for many years in Massachusetts.
>
> Membership in a Chamber of Commerce or other affinity group does not 
> qualify for group insurance in Massachusetts, a sore point that came up 
> often when I was on the Government Relations Committee of the Berkshire 
> Chamber, and something that business groups have long been trying to 
> reverse, without success.
>
> There are insurance purchasing outfits  that require you to be a member of 
> such a group to use their services (e.g., Northeast Business Trust, from 
> whom I used to get my insurance) but under the current MA health insurance 
> laws, they don't offer any advantage, and, as I discovered in researching 
> the matter, tend to offer less value than you can get by purchasing 
> directly from insurers like BCBSMA or Tufts as an individual.
>
> That said, the insurers conduct a real shell game by offering a vast 
> number of plans using all kinds of different combinations of copays, 
> deductibles and other options. This makes it nearly impossible to compare 
> plans directly. I ended up building a spreadsheet model and running 
> what-if scenarios to make an informed choice, but I don't think most 
> people have the know-how (or time) to do that kind of thing.
>
> As to the original question, a self-employed individual who files a 
> Schedule C and reports a profit can deduct up to the amount of that profit 
> minus 1/2 their SE tax on line 29 of their 1040, if he/she does not 
> qualify for coverage under someone else's plan. Your spouse's insurance 
> will also qualify if she/he is a co-owner of the business.
>
> Also, if you are both owner/employees of the business, you can get two 
> individual plans, which is less expensive than a family plan if you have 
> no other dependents.
>
> Jan Werner