There are many appealing aspects of being a gig driver. Making your own hours, getting a lot of variety in your work, and never having to answer to a supervisor are a few. There are disadvantages also, and one of the biggest is having to buy your own health insurance. Health insurance for gig workers can take huge bites out of earnings.
The average health insurance policy, even for a healthy 32-year-old, can cost as much as $6,000 a year, just in premiums! No driver wants to put in the amount of work it would take to pay a bill like that. Besides, many popular health insurance policies, when you need them, don’t pay the lion’s share of the enormous bills medical care can produce.
Knowing these things, many drivers get only minimum coverage, or go without it completely. There’s no longer any need to do either of those.
In this post, you’ll be introduced to CrowdHealth, a way of getting top-notch health care without paying the high price of standard insurance premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses. You can pay far less than health insurance and get better care. Knowing that you’ll want to learn more, here we answer the many questions you might have, including
- What is CrowdHealth?
- How does CrowdHealth differ from regular gig worker insurance?
- What makes CrowdHealth distinct from a healthshare?
- How can you join CrowdHealth?
What is CrowdHealth?
CrowdHealth is an innovative alternative to expensive insurance that draws on the power of community. Founded at a time of true need, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, CrowdHealth is an ideal provider of insurance for gig workers that is reasonably priced, flexible, and fair. Here’s how it works:
- Participants aged 0–54 pay a membership fee of $175.
- $40 goes toward subsidizing CrowdHealth services. The remainder ($135) goes into an account that you own.
- When other CrowdHealth members ask for contributions, you can use money from this account to contribute to their medical costs.
- While there is no obligation to fund every request, the more you participate, the more likely fellow members will be to contribute to your fund when you need their help.
- When you need to crowdfund in order to cover an expense, you will pay the first $500, and then receive the rest from the community.
In addition to organizing crowdfunding to pay for your medical expenses, CrowdHealth provides a broad range of services, including
- personal care advocates. An advocate will be available to guide you on the journey through the healthcare labyrinth. You can get all your answers when you need them, without the stress of dealing with the gigantic “help” centers you find at conventional insurance companies.
- negotiation of medical charges. CrowdHealth will negotiate with providers to reduce the cost of procedures that you’ve been informed you need. By using CrowdHealth, members have saved as much as 60% off many doctors’ visits and medical procedures.
- crowdfunding for wellness visits. Prevention is one way to avoid the need for extensive medical care, so CrowdHealth will help you fund a visit to the doctor for general checkups.
- discounted prescriptions. CrowdHealth will also help you source discounts on your prescriptions.
How does CrowdHealth differ from regular gig worker insurance?
Buying an insurance policy without the security blanket of company benefits is very expensive. While the healthcare marketplace provided by the government can help you find somewhat affordable policies, premiums are still very high. That’s just one issue that makes CrowdHealth a better option for gig economy health insurance. See for yourself below, with the side-by-side comparison of factors that make CrowdHealth a much better choice for gig drivers.
| Conventional gig worker insurance | CrowdHealth |
| Sky-high insurance premiums | At least 50% reduction in monthly payments |
| Restrictions on which doctors you can see and what hospitals you can use | Ability to choose your own doctors and facilities |
| Frequent denial of coverage | Help with negotiating affordable prices for the medical help you need |
| No record of where premium money is spent | Complete transparency, choice of which crowdfunds to support, and ability to take the money from your account with you should you decide to leave CrowdHealth |
| Little or no patient advocacy | Complete assistance for members, from choosing proper doctors and hospitals to negotiating fees |
What makes CrowdHealth distinct from a healthshare?
You may have heard about healthshares. They operate by creating a pool of funds from members, which is then distributed to other members in need of money to pay their healthcare bills. Christian medical sharing is a particularly popular model. While joining a healthshare that is based on faith can be compatible with the needs of many, not everyone is interested in participating in Christian health options.
CrowdHealth differs from these popular healthshares in several important ways:
- CrowdHealth raises crowdfunded money quickly, while healthshares often take much longer to reimburse members.
- CrowdHealth doesn’t ask members to contribute to each and every request. Healthshares, on the other hand, tell members that if they don’t give, they cannot stay in the community.
- CrowdHealth, unlike healthshares, doesn’t insist that members pay up front for procedures before getting reimbursed by the community. Instead, CrowdHealth will help members prepare for procedures by crowdfunding before the surgery or other treatment takes place. By paying upfront, the member is more fully able to negotiate a lower price.
- With CrowdHealth, there is no requirement to adhere to a certain set of religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. While the community embraces people of all faiths, it does not exclude those who are not part of a particular religion.
- There is no limit on the amount you can crowdfund with CrowdHealth. Many healthshares set limits, such as $250,000 per year or $1 million over a lifetime. Anyone who has had serious health problems knows that these amounts can be reached and exceeded in very short periods of time.
Even legally speaking, CrowdHealth is not a healthshare. According to federal law, healthshares are defined as entities which are
- faith-based
- non-profit
- based on a common set of ethical or religious beliefs
- formed prior to 1999
- capable of ejecting members based on medical conditions they develop
- required to perform an annual audit
CrowdHealth shares very few of the above attributes. CrowdHealth is
- not faith-based
- a for-profit corporation
- not a group that accepts members based on certain beliefs
- not formed prior to 1999
- committed to not ejecting members based on the medical conditions they develop
There are just two similarities:
- CrowdHealth welcomes members who seek Christian health insurance plans, but there is no requirement for members to be Christian, or members of any other faith. However, CrowdHealth members do share a general disliking of the conventional medical insurance system.
- CrowdHealth performs annual audits as a matter of sound business practices.
How can you join CrowdHealth?
As long as you’re reasonably healthy and don’t have any current long-term health bills, all you have to do is enroll! See what being a CrowdHealth member will look like here, A fully functional app puts you in touch with your personal care advocate so you can get started right away.
Find out how much it costs to join CrowdHealth here. You’ll enter the number of people you wish to enroll and their age category. From there, you’ll instantly see the amount you’ll pay for your monthly membership fee.
If you’re sick and tired of being ripped off by high insurance premiums and denial of service, take a step up to CrowdHealth and experience the power of community!
