Nearly half of U.S. gig workers report difficulty accessing health insurance, study finds

Freelance work has a negative impact on the ability of nearly half of U.S. gig workers to find access to health insurance. In addition, many are stressed and frustrated by the lack of a social safety net, according to a study by Legal & General Group, a financial services company in the United Kingdom.

“The pandemic has made it abundantly clear that we can’t have economic health without physical health,” said Sir Nigel Wilson, the company’s CEO. “Health care coverage is considered a given in most wealthy, industrialized nations. American gig workers expressing insecurity over their coverage acts as a call to action for companies to tackle this deeply ingrained divide. The private sector has the collective know-how and financial wherewithal to develop creative leveling-up solutions that make both social and fiscal sense.”

Among the other findings:

• Twenty-three percent of gig workers have no health insurance.
• Sixty-nine percent of parents surveyed have health insurance, while 31% are uninsured.
• Forty-two percent say access to health care, life insurance and a pension would be the most effective ways to lure them out of gig work and back to traditional employment.

Health insurance is not the only concern. Only 4 in 10 workers surveyed have life insurance, even if they have a child or partner. This number drops to 33% in western states. One-third say gig work negatively affects their access to disability insurance, and more than half say the same about retirement savings.

The pandemic exacerbated the challenges. Forty-five percent of respondents say gig work negatively affected their access to paid time off during COVID. Lack of sick leave creates a vicious cycle — gig workers must take unpaid time off when they’re sick, meaning they have even less financial wherewithal to aid or speed their recovery. Those who are uninsured sometimes had no choice but to suffer serious cases of COVID alone, without prescription medications or consultations with medical professionals.

Read more: Study finds similar financial worries among both gig workers and corporate employees

The challenges are likely to continue as the number of independent contractors increases.

“The steady growth of the U.S. gig economy spotlights the importance of addressing these basic safety nets,” says John Godfrey, director of leveling-up for the organization. “While a handful of gig work platforms are doing a great job of providing affordable coverage, the larger population of independent workers has yet to be included. We hope this research will bring to the forefront the need to create a user-friendly benefits infrastructure and bring it to this broader population of gig workers.”