Stride Analysis Reveals Nearly 1 in 4 Gig Workers Pay Less Than $1 Per Month For Qualified Health Insurance Plans

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Stride, the world's leading benefits platform for independent workers, today shared data revealing that 23% of rideshare and delivery driver gig workers have enrolled in qualified health insurance plans costing them less than $1 per month, and 40% are enrolling in plans for less than $25 a month. This data is based on Stride customers who have enrolled in health insurance plans since the start of the 2020 Open Enrollment period.

"Most gig economy workers are eligible to enroll in Qualified Health Plans at very low out-of-pocket costs," said Noah Lang, CEO and co-founder of Stride. "Most qualify for financial assistance that can greatly reduce their monthly bill. In fact, we're seeing the average gig worker qualify for more than $450 per month in financial assistance. The problem is that most aren't aware of their options or even that there's a deadline to enroll."

Lack of Awareness Contributing to More Uninsured Americans
During last year's Open Enrollment period, 70% of individuals responsible for purchasing their own health insurance didn't know the deadline for enrolling, and in 2018 the number of uninsured Americans rose for the first time since the Affordable Care Act was introduced in 2014. This drop coincides with a 90% reduction in the government's advertising budget to promote Open Enrollment, which was cut from $100 million annually a couple years ago to just $10 million last year.

"The health insurance marketplace is healthier than it's been in years, with more insurance carriers participating and premiums dropping 4% on average this year over last year, according to CMS. But none of that matters if no one knows that affordable plans may be within their reach," Lang added.

Stride continues to partner with the world's largest employers of independent contractors,  including Uber, Postmates, DoorDash, Instacart, Grubhub, TaskRabbit, Favor Delivery and Keller Williams, to ensure gig workers understand their health insurance options. These companies work with Stride to create co-branded health insurance enrollment experiences and communication plans that help their workers understand health insurance options, find the best plan for their needs, determine if they qualify for financial assistance and get enrolled.

"Our partnership with Stride is part of our commitment to helping Dashers achieve their goals by earning supplemental income on our platform," said Max Rettig, Head of Public Policy for DoorDash. "We're thrilled to see thousands of Dashers using Stride to learn about their options for health insurance, understand enrollment deadlines, and get themselves and their families covered for 2020."

Individuals don't have to be affiliated with a gig work platform to use Stride. Anyone who needs to find and enroll in their own health insurance can use Stride free of charge at stridehealth.com. Companies interested in working with Stride to help their independent workers find and enroll in health insurance can apply to be a partner at stridebenefits.com.

Simplifying Enrollment
Stride is one of a small group of companies using the Center for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) system, which enables Stride to integrate directly with HealthCare.gov. This integration allows Stride users to access hundreds of dollars in monthly premium subsidies and complete their insurance applications without leaving Stride, ensuring the entire enrollment process is seamless and easy to navigate.

"For independent workers, every minute they spend enrolling in health insurance is a minute not being spent on growing their income," Lang noted. "We invested in integrating with HealthCare.gov so that we can help workers find the best plan at the lowest possible price, enroll in that plan and get back to doing the things that matter most to their financial success."

About Stride
Stride is the first benefits platform designed specifically for independent workers, helping them save time and money on insurance, taxes and hundreds of thousands of products and services. Since launching in 2014, Stride has helped over 1 million workers save over $1 billion, and partners with the world's leading platforms and employers of non-benefited workers including Uber, Postmates, DoorDash, Grubhub, Rover, Care.com, TaskRabbit and Keller Williams and more to provide their workers access to health and wealth benefits and perks. The company is backed by Venrock, New Enterprise Associates and F-Prime Capital Partners. For more information, visit www.stridehealth.com.

SOURCE Stride

Related Links

http://www.stridehealth.com