Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but I have been a little under the weather this week. I asked my friend about individual as well as small business insurance. She said that medical evidence can be required for any small business under 10 people as well as individuals. So unless you can get a bunch of people on your payroll, that avenue won't help either.
I was thinking back to when I was self-insured as a contractor a few years ago. I don't know why I didn't think of this before--you can ususually get medical insurance if you are registered with a contracting or temp agency. Some of the agencies that offer full coverage will have requirements regarding hours that you must fulfill. However, for some of them, all you have to do is be registered with the agency and you will fall under the group umbrella. Sometimes you have to wait X number of months. So that might be something to consider when your cobra gets closer to the end and you need to move from group to group coverage. The coverage you get might not be as good as what you can get working a part time job, but you never know.
I ended up purchasing individual insurance with a non-maternity clause because it offered me more comprehensive coverage. However, my agency offered a decent plan, did not require minimum hours worked, and the only down part being that it had a deductible I couldn't afford to meet. |