Decent's plans are ACA-compliant and resemble bronze and silverplans sold on the exchanges, but are offered outside of theexchanges year-round. (Photo: iStock)

The combination of self-insurance and direct primary care canpack quite the savings punch for the self-employed, according toDecent, a newthird-party administrator that has just launched an innovativetwist to health plans.

Indeed, freelancers, 1099 contractors and sole proprietors willbe able to save upwards of 30 percent on premiums if they buyhealth plans self-insured by trade associations, with networks ofdirect care doctors charging lower membership fees negotiated bythe San Francisco-based Decent.

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"Health insurance is too expensive, especially for people whobuy their own without subsidies — freelancers are seeing premiumsrise by more than 20 percent per year," says Nick Soman, Decent'sCEO and founder. "The future of work demands the future ofinsurance. With the most affordable comprehensive plans forself-employed people, we come one step closer to making health careaffordable for all."

Decent's plans are currently available just in Austin formembers of the Texas Freelance Association, but with $8 million infunding from investors including Menlo Ventures and FoundationCapital, the plans will soon be available to self-employed peoplein other parts of Texas and the country.

"Americans spend around $3.5 trillion dollars per year onhealthcare, yet experts estimate that a quarter of that is wastedon administrative overhead," says Naomi Pilosof Ionita, a partnerat Menlo Ventures, Decent's lead investor. "I am eager to seeDecent transform the way self-employed people receive healthcare,and support this underserved market by offering more affordableoptions."

Decent is currently negotiating with direct care doctors inadditional markets to charge lower prices to members of freelancerassociations in those markets. Once an association strikes a dealwith Decent, the association-sponsored self-insured plan will beoffered to its self-employed members.

The plans are ACA-compliant and resemble bronze and silver planssold on the exchanges, but Decent's plans are offered outside ofthe exchanges year-round — with premiums that are up to 50 percentlower than typical market rates, Soman contends. There are norestrictions or charges for pre-existing conditions and no medicalscreening is required.

Under the direct care model, enrollees pay the membership fee aspart of their monthly premium, and the membership fee is passedthrough to providers. Enrollees then receive unlimited access tosame-day appointments, 24/7 telemedicine services, and almost anyprocedure performed by a primary care physician — all for $0out-of-pocket payment. Associations also buy a stop-loss policy tocover expensive claims, including procedures not done by directprimary care providers.

"The work Decent is doing to extend affordable, high qualityhealth coverage to the self-employed is a mission that all of uscan get behind," says Dr. Chris Larson, a direct primary carephysician in Decent's network. "I own my business and can relate tothe struggles others face when trying to find affordable coverageand am happy to be a part of improving their journey."

The capital injected by Menlo and other investors will also beused to grow Decent's team over the next year. The company recentlyappointed Elijio Salas, formerly Associate Commissioner at theTexas Department of Insurance, as Decent's agency managementlead.

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