Behind the dream of being your own boss looms the nightmare of paying for health insurance.

Whether by necessity or choice, you may suddenly find yourself an independent contractor, a consultant  or a self-employed business person.

On the plus side, you are no longer working for the Man (or the Woman). But you no longer have the benefits that the corporate world provided, such as health insurance and a retirement plan, or the convenience of automatic tax withholding.

The exorbitant cost of health insurance is the greatest barrier to people willingly striking out on their own.

Starting in 2019, due to Congressional repeal, there will no longer be a federal mandate for individuals to have health coverage. Four states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, require coverage.  California and Minnesota are among a handful of states actively looking into initiating their own mandate.

However, going without health insurance is a bad idea. Healthcare providers are not required to serve you if you don’t have insurance. While emergency rooms would accept you, relying exclusively on emergency care could seriously compromise your health, not to mention your wealth. This devil-may-care approach may leave you broke or even bankrupt.

If you can’t afford health insurance, as measured by income and family size, you may be entitled to premium subsidies (provided you select the “Silver” plan option).  In addition, 33 states, including New York, have expanded Medicaid to pay for health care for the working poor. Four more states have ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid.

Some self-employed people who have transitioned out of the workforce opt for coverage under COBRA, which allows you continued access to your employer’s health insurance plan. The difference is that you are now paying both the employer’s and employee’s share of the premium. Despite this added cost, it typically is cheaper than what you can purchase on your own.

COBRA premiums and other medical costs are deductible on your federal income taxes to the extent that collectively they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI). (The threshold climbs to 10 percent of AGI in 2019.)

The news in some ways is better if you have self-employment income and a non-COBRA policy. Then you are eligible to deduct 100 percent of your health insurance costs up to your net business income. Handled properly, health insurance premiums for the self-insured can result in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in AGI.

For the fortunate people who have a working spouse with good benefits, the path from the corporate fold is smoother. Leaving a job, whether voluntarily or not, makes you eligible to join your spouse’s plan —  typically for an increased premium, of course.

Before deciding to strike out on your own, you should explore what health insurance will cost you through either COBRA (remembering that this runs out), a private plan or a policy purchased through a state healthcare exchange.

State healthcare exchanges have an open enrollment period usually covering the last two months of the year. Outside of that period, you would need a change of life event, such as getting married, having a child or losing a job, to join or change a plan.

Paying for your own insurance can be quite expensive. In New York, “Bronze” plans for a family start at around $1,100 a month. Quality and price increase from there. Variables include the size of the deductibles and the amounts of co-payments required for services, i.e., out-of-pocket expenses that will lift your medical expenses even higher.

This is informational only and not advice. Consult a qualified insurance expert or insurance company representative as well as your accountant.