New Health Insurance Option Available for Business Owners

Starting today, individuals who own and operate businesses in New York City have another option for purchasing health insurance.

Geared toward sole proprietors, the plans are being offered by UnitedHealthcare and a nonprofit agency that facilitates insurance coverage for small businesses, HealthPass. The plans — to be sold under UnitedHealthcare's Oxford brand — target New York's "working uninsured," individuals who are employed but lack health insurance, according to the companies, which announced their partnership yesterday.

"It's a market we identified as having a need," the CEO of UnitedHealthcare of New York, Bill Golden, said. "Their plans aren't as easy to get."

Sole proprietors may choose from five plans, with monthly rates for individuals ranging between $299 and $386. Family plans range between $929 and $1,197 a month.

Routine office visits to in-network physicians are included, and no referrals are needed for specialists.

According to the executive director of HealthPass, Vince Ashton, self-employed individuals have had difficulty obtaining health insurance in the past.

"Tens of thousands of sole proprietors in the New York City metro area are uninsured because health insurance options in the past have been cost- prohibitive or inaccessible," he said in a statement.