Health insurance for the self-employed - Having your own business is great, but it's important to make sure your health needs and the medical requirements for your family are covered. That takes some researching, but there are many affordable health insurance programs for the self-employed. Here are some tips to get you started.

For the small business owner: insurance for you and your employees. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends group health protection, either a traditional group plan or a health maintenance organization plan. Some plans offer medical self-care and health-promotion programs to encourage employees in healthy lifestyles.

Depending on how you set up your business, you can deduct anywhere from 40 percent to 100 percent of your medical insurance costs. This creates opportunities for selecting from a wide variety of plans. They can include a "high-deductible" health insurance plan. You'll pay the first thousand dollars or more of your medical costs; after that, your insurance will pick up any catastrophic expenses you or your family incur.

*Not all plans and providers are available in all states.

Self-Employed Health Insurance - are you self employed and looking for health insurance?