I'm new to Active Rain, but have helped many Realtors get guaranteed issued health insurance.  After reading Jason's blog where his friend went through his last months alive inundated with medical bills because he didn't have health insurance, I was inspired to show those who can't qualify for health insurance a way to obtain guaranteed coverage. 

 **Did you know that medical bills are the cause of half of all the bankruptcies in the US?**

DISCLAIMER:  I have been doing this successfully in California for years.  I'm not familiar with other state's guidelines.  Call an independent health insurance agent in your state and ask them...or ask me and I'll refer you to an agent.

In a nutshell, you need to create a small group and structure your real estate practice as a legal entity.  In order to form a small group you must have at least 2 people on the legal records or have at least 1 employee. 

There are 4 key factors under which this can be done :

1.  Type of Business

A business must provide a good or service.  Real Estate is considered a valid business.  So you're good here.

2.  Organization of the Business

This is the most important.  Depending on how you structure your business, there are different requirements which I'll list below.

Sole Proprietorship -This is the most difficult in terms of small group qualification because by law, you can have only one owner/officer. So only one person would be on the business license and any spouse or business partner would have to be an employee and placed on payroll. This would require the spouse or business partner to be paid a wage, appear on a DE-6 and file payroll taxes.

Documentation required for small group coverage :

*Fictitious Business Listing or California Business License
*DE-6 Quarterly payroll tax report (if in business long enough) or 30- days employee payroll records
*Sole Proprietor/Partner/Corporate Officer Statement Form
*Owner's Current Schedule C (if in business long enough)

Partnerships (General & LLP) - this is the most common approach to forming a small business, especially spouses, life partners and business partners. The advantage to this arrangement is that spouses and/or partners can all be owners/officers in the business without need for any additional employees.  So no payroll is needed. 

Documentation required for small group coverage:

*Partnership Agreement and Federal Tax ID Appointment Letter or, if in business long enough:
*Current Schedule K-1
*Sole Proprietor/Partner/Corporate Officer Statement Form
*DE-6 (if available and any employees on payroll)

Corporations and LLC's - The advantage to a corporation is similar to a partnership, in that all business partners or spouses can be corporate officers without any need to retain additional employees.  So again, no need for payroll. 

Documentation required for small group coverage:

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

*Articles of Organization with Operating Agreement, or, if in business long enough,
*Current Schedule K-1
*Sole Proprietor/Partner/Corporate Officer Statement Form
*DE-6 (if available and any employees on payroll)

Corporations (S-Corp, C-Corp)

*Articles of Incorporation filed and stamped listing names of all officers
*Statement of Domestic Stock (if in business long enough)
*Sole Proprietor/Partner/Corporate Officer Statement Form
*DE-6 (if available and any employees on payroll)

3. Amount of Time Working in the Business

Each owner/partner/officer must certify on the Sole Proprietor/Partner/Corporate Officer Statement Form that they are working at least 20 hours per week in the business. This demonstrates to the health insurance company each owner's commitment to the group. (This form is provided by insurance company you are applying for)

4.  Business Timeline (For California)

The last key element of creating your qualifying small business has to do with date of establishment and waiting period for guaranteed-issue health coverage under AB 1672.  In short, if you're in business for 45 days, you can qualify for guaranteed health coverage.

If you can satisfy these 4 rules, you can get guaranteed health coverage.   It's not as cumbersome as it looks, but it can be made easy with the help of an independent health insurance agent.  Whatever state you are in, make sure your agent can offer all the insurers in your state.  You will be better served and always have options when your premiums rise every year.  I can help anyone in California with this process, but I'm not familiar with any other states health insurance plans.

Also, I always recommend seeking legal advice on how you structure your business. 

This blog is simply a tool to show you what you need to do to acquire health insurance on a guaranteed basis in California

I hope this helps!  Please contact me or comment with any questions.