CMS encouraging gig workers from Uber, Lyft and others to sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage

Photo: Jeff Lagasse/Healthcare Finance News

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is encouraging gig employers such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Postmates to promote Affordable Care Act plans to employees.

This is an effort to raise awareness of reduced subsidies that could help gig workers sign up for coverage through the federal platform.

Gig workers set their own hours, and are only paid for the hours they work. The companies that employ them typically do not offer health insurance packages.

Specifically, CMS is pushing these online platforms to share information with gig workers on how they can enroll during the 2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period that ends August 15. The push coincides with “Gig Workers’ Week of Action.”

WHAT’S THE IMPACT?

Under the American Rescue Plan, most consumers are able to reduce monthly premiums through increased tax credit help. For new consumers selecting plans during the SEP, the average monthly premium after tax credits fell over 25{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}, from $117 for those enrolling in February and March to $86 for those enrolling in the month of April. 

The ARP also helped to lower out-of-pocket costs for new consumers by making more generous plans more affordable after the ARP’s enhanced tax credits. The median deductible for new consumers during the SEP fell by nearly 90{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}, from $450 to $50.

Large online platforms participating in Gig Workers’ Week of Action have pledged to provide their workforces with information on affordable coverage. This includes informing drivers and couriers about the Week of Action to help create awareness about the availability of coverage through the Marketplace, hosting a blog, sharing stories of how drivers have benefited from Marketplace coverage, and providing communications in English and Spanish to reach a broader audience.

Also, many online platforms have coordinated with CMS-approved direct enrollment partners to incorporate access to health insurance coverage into their workers’ smartphone apps. These apps allow gig economy workers direct interaction with the Marketplace to enroll in coverage and receive financial assistance.

Now through August 15, those who want to enroll in coverage, compare plan offerings or learn if they qualify for more affordable premiums can check their coverage options directly through their company’s app, or by visiting HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov. Consumers can view 2021 plans and prices and submit an application to see if they are eligible for enrollment and for financial assistance. 

If eligible, they can enroll in a plan that best meets their needs. Current enrollees should review their application, make any changes needed to their current information, submit their application and then select a new plan or reselect their current plan to receive the increased savings under the American Rescue Plan, CMS said.

THE LARGER TREND

This isn’t the first time that gig employers have crossed over to healthcare in some capacity. In late April, Lyft announced a new program that helps health plan members and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries request rides to their medical appointments without cost. The program allows the sponsoring healthcare or social services organization to cover the cost of the rides. Sponsors are given control over the service by setting a total budget, a maximum cost per ride, the pickup and drop-off locations and when the pass can be used.

Sponsoring organizations covering the ride issue Lyft passes to their riders for use when they request a ride. Lyft then provides the organizations with reports on usage and spending.

In 2019, Uber Health announced a partnership with American Logistics to help improve patient access to transportation and improve transparency and reliability surrounding transportation.

The need for transportation extends to clinic workers as well. In 2020, nonprofit healthcare network Sutter Health collaborated with Lyft to help home health providers travel to and from patient homes. Sutter and Lyft have worked together in the past on pilot transportation programs and found that the programs helped reduce wait times, lower costs and positively impact social determinants of a patient’s health.

While there is growing interest in improving access to transportation, more may be needed to help reduce the rate of missed appointments. A 2018 study from Penn Medicine researchers published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that offering Medicaid patients with a free Lyft ride did not reduce the rate of missed appointments. According to the study, the rate of missed appointments for those offered a free Lyft ride and those not offered a ride was about the same – 36.5{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} and 36.7{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}, respectively.

ON THE RECORD

“As millions of Americans have relied on gig economy work to sustain their incomes and support their families during the pandemic, we want these hardworking men and women to know they can purchase quality, affordable health coverage through HealthCare.gov,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “And thanks to the American Rescue Plan, these gig workers may be eligible for increased financial help to reduce the cost of their monthly premiums, making the health insurance plans on the Marketplace more affordable than ever before. I encourage everyone to go to Healthcare.gov to see if they are eligible for lower costs coverage today.”
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: [email protected]