Being a gig worker offers a lot of flexibility, but it also comes along with some limitations. Regular employees receive company benefits. But what about the gig workers? When it comes to safety, a healthcare plan is essential for gig workers.
In 2019, 29 million self-employed workers lacked health insurance. This is according to the Gig Economy and Self-Employed Report. Which was conducted by QuickBooks and Gallup.
In the pandemic era, it seems risky to work without health insurance. When health is in the foreground, we all need to be covered. Not to mention the gig worker delivery and share drivers. As well as any independent contractors who still provide their services with no restrictions.
Most companies do not consider their drivers as employees in the gig economy. The contract doesn’t cover health plan insurance. If you work in the gig economy, you need to buy a health insurance plan on your own.
However, there are some affordable options.
Stride Health
Stride is an online health platform explicitly created for gig workers. The company helps independent contractors save time and money. Namely on insurance, taxes, and many other services.
It also offers collateral benefits. For instance, dental, vision, and life insurance. In addition, it provides expense tracking and prescription discounts.
The workers from sponsoring companies can access the benefits at no charge. Stride Health has teamed up with non-benefit companies. These include: Uber, Postmates, DoorDash, Grubhub, Rover, Care.com, TaskRabbit, and Keller Williams. Their goal is to funnel gig workers into the healthcare policies and plans that are right for them.
Flashback. In 2016, I had to get health insurance because of the Affordable Care Act’s mandate (aka Obama). I had left my full-time job in research and didn’t have insurance. I got my insurance through Stride. This was to avoid paying the penalty under the Affordable Care Act. I was paying around $80 a month for health coverage through this marketplace.
HealthSherpa Healthcare plans
HealthSherpa is a free website. It helps gig workers find and make the best use of your Marketplace health insurance.
Gig workers can create a plan with what matters to them. Like prescriptions, doctors, or price. They can also make Instant-savings under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without signing up. If you register on the Self-Employed platform, you can learn about all the Health insurance plans. Last year, half of HealthSherpa customers paid less than $50 per month for quality health insurance!
Trupo
Freelancers founded Trupo for freelancers. Just as an HR department, it curates benefit packages. The business provides unique insurance coverage. As well as a variety of affordable plans. Some of the benefits include accident and critical illness plans. The company offers benefits packages to save time and money. What’s more, they pay gig workers if they get hurt in an accident and cannot work.
Trupo also reported that Dental, accident, liability, and other brave new benefits for freelancers are coming soon.
Bunker Healthcare
Bunker is a San-Francisco-based company. They offer accident workers’ compensation products to gig workers. Chad Nitschke is Bunkers’ CEO. According to Forbes, Nitschke wants to cover the freelancers’ insurance protection gap. The company offers unique business insurance programs built for the Future of Work. This includes usage-based products. It is worth mentioning that it provides on-demand healthcare plans. They also provide monitoring by issuing monthly reports.
No one is safe from medical emergencies. Buying a small coverage plan may end up protecting you from financial ruin. Do not hesitate to search for the best insurance for you. If you are in the gig economy, finding a suitable health insurance plan is daunting. But, do not neglect it. You never know when you will need it.
