As you may be aware, I have worked in health care administration. I am obviously not anyone's personal health care subject matter expert, but here's some information that I think might be clarifying.
RWA announced here, that it and various other book industry groups have signed with LIG solutions to provide health care options to members. They also have a FAQ here. I am going to try to answer some questions I think may be less clear.
-Folks who have fiction writing as a day job are generally considered sole proprietors of their business. Sole proprietors are not allowed to team up and get group insurance rates for reasons that probably don't matter so much, they just aren't. If you and your writing business operate as a larger business type, the rules are a little different and so association health plans might be on the table for you.
-This only helps folks who live in the US.
-These are still going to be plans available through your state or federal marketplace. There are a couple of things that will then follow from this.
+ If you have access to a plan through an employer, depending on the size and negotiating power of said employer, the employer sponsored plan is likely to be cheaper than any individual plan out there. Not always, but often.
+ If you, like me, enjoy sifting through multiple plans, or have a good idea of what kind of plan you want, then you may prefer to do your own research.
+ If you really wish you or a trusted friend liked sifting through multiple plans to figure out options, while the LIG person may not be your friend, they are a useful resource for such research. Especially if terms like PPO, POS, and HMO make you cross eyed.
+ Because these plans are essentially out there already, your access to the writer's organization is just facilitating your access to the consultant, not the plan itself.
