Freelance

We dug up a few more reactions to yesterday's announcement by Demand Studios of the company's health care plans. Reactions are still mixed from around the Web as far as we can tell.

Via facebook (we're not naming names because we don't know whose privacy settings are set to what..Facebook isn't like Twitter, right?):
"kind of disappointed. I was hoping for a major medical, traditional health care plan. (Still, though, I appreciate the effort DS put into the research and think this is a good trend overall for freelancers.)...although the plan offered is not for me, it's a good start and I'm sure will help many writers who have nothing. Just getting Web employers thinking about benefits for freelancers is a HUGE step forward."
And:

"I totally appreciate the effort they put into this, and it is definitely better than nothing at all. My only real sticking point is that they promoted this as "insurance". This is not a classic insurance plan, the kind that most people think of when they hear "insurance". This is a discount plan. Yes, the discount is a considerable one, but it is still not comprehensive health insurance.

But, again, I'm not saying that I completely dismiss the time and effort DS put into this. It's amazing that they even considered providing health coverage of any kind. It's just that I feel the way they described it when they first announced the idea was misleading."

"As a new writer for DS I think it's woderful!!! [sic]" (Twitter)

"Demand Studios gets lots of cred for this. Could meet writing req in <3 days, then write for more $ for rest of month." (Twitter)

I'm not surprised or disappointed. This kind of plan is exactly what I anticipated. It's not a bad thing, it could be useful to some people, and it is something that Demand "worked" to put together.

Now, I'm not exactly impressed by Demand's efforts–I mean, c'mon–it's not like they are offering this to every writer signed up with them. Instead, they are offering it to writers who have written at least 90 articles over a consecutive 3 month period.

Does that make Demand Studios evil? Of course not. Does that make them the nurturing womb of a concerned mama sparrow? Uh...no. It makes them a business that did a smart thing to attract new writers and get new work that they will profit from. Nothing wrong with that. (FreelanceWriterVille)

I saw a comment from one of DM's mods noting that there were no caps on coverage. I have a feeling they didn't read their own documentation (which very clearly states otherwise). Just make sure you read it thoroughly (and as Yo said, go over it with an insurance professional) before signing up for something based on promises from people who clearly don't know what they're talking about. If at that point you feel that it's still right for you, by all means sign up. It's far from living up to the hype, but maybe for some it will be better than nothing (especially if they're not able to earn more per article elsewhere at the moment). (comment on previous FWV post)

But enough from them. MJD readers, tell us: What do you think of this? If you're a DS contributor, does this make you happy? If you're not, does this make you want to become one?

Heck, while we're on the subject of freelancers and healthcare:

Sara Horowitz, founder of Freelancers Union, "is furious at the White House. She worries that health reform will disrupt the group she's spent years building.

Her health plan is designed specifically for independent photographers, designers and writers who are not full-time employees of a company. Yet the health reform bills in Congress don't recognize this kind of specialized coverage." (Forbes)

The bill passed by the House of Representatives could make the plans offered by Freelancers Union much more expensive, or would have to accept anyone—even non-freelancers. This bill "violates the president's promise that it won't force you to change your coverage," Horowitz told Forbes. "This is a third of the workforce."

(Horowitz's insurance offerings have come under fire from Freelancers Union members, too, by the way.)

As mentioned, we spoke with DS rep Rose Maciejewski and DS director of marketing Mike Cowan about the new healthcare offerings.

Our Q&A with Cowan:

You go first.
First of all, the reason why we got to where we were at, we spent a lot of the summer going to every [major DS market], talking to everybody, and one of the questions we asked was what's your healthcare situation? A lot of these people have nothing... I sat down with a lot of experts in the health industry and the same thing came up. We wanted to come to the table with low-cost plans with similar to what they're paying per month. What I am confident in, as somebody who worked very closely on this for weeks, at this price level based on the needs of many [creators], there will be hundreds of people who are immediately much better off with this.

But almost nothing's covered.
If you have a major thing happen to you, you're mostly out of luck, unless you're on a corporate plan. We didn't try to attack that. We tried to attack the part, if people have common things--if I break my ankle playing soccer. And don't forget how low the monthly cost is, and there's no deductible.

This is the hard thing to get out in a bullet point format: it's packaged with a ton of these extra programs. [Creators signing up get access to the Beech Street PPO network.] A normal person goes in [to the doctor] and it's $150 bucks, but in the network, you go in and it's $80, and you get the $50 back.

We added a nurse line. We have a patient advocacy service. If you're having trouble negotiating a price, we have someone on the phone. I know it doesn't make it the greatest insurance of all time, but these are worth things to people.

[I read him an e-mail critical of the new plans.] What do you say to this guy?
It's a case by case basis. One thing I'm confident in, is if they have the money to go spend $500 a month, these plans are really not meant for those people. We're trying to help people who are all alone on an island. [For the people who say they can get a better plan,] I'd really like to sit down and say, "Where are you going to go to get this at this price?"

You can get high-deductible plans at this price. If the most important thing is warding off cancer, they might go, "My $150 is best spent there." It's just such a personalized thing. It's not something that, if you can afford $500, you'd probably spend it on a more comprehensive plan.

So why not be upfront about this and say "This is not insurance as you know it?"
The rules are very complex when it comes to health insurance for contractors. The catastrophic coverage isn't even an option for us. at a huge discount. This is the one we could pull off [and it's the right price].

It is health insurance. It's not a comprehensive catastrophic coverage but by the definition of insurance it definitely is.

IPS's own fine print says "traditional comprehensive health insurance and should not be considered a substitute for comprehensive health insurance or major medical coverage." From the e-mails I'm getting, a lot of people are disappointed.
We're getting so much positive [feedback] as well, that I'm not sure what the percentages [of positive to negative] are. A lot of people said they'd be willing to pay a higher cost to get a discounted catastrophic. We had to choose a way to go. It just had to be a choice. We called it a limited medical plan, that doesn't mean it's not insurance. We didn't feel like we had to downplay any expectations.

---

Rose followed up with this e-mail:

The important point to also remember is that this program is
groundbreaking in the industry and as such, Demand Studios will closely
monitor the program to see how it works and how we can grow and evolve
it.

Also wanted to reiterate some key plan points:

• No deductible or co-pays
• Guaranteed acceptance: There are no medical tests or requirements to disclose ailments or family history, etc. Pre-existing conditions are covered. The only exception is if you know you are pregnant, you cannot join the plan for that purpose. (Other than in California where there is no such requirement).
• Plans use the Beech Street network of providers, one of the largest PPO networks nationwide
• Access to Nurseline, with on-demand, 24/7/365 access to experienced,
  registered nurses via phone or email
• Access to a Patient Advocacy Service, which assists you in finding care and dealing with the complexities of the healthcare system
• A prescription drug card, which may provide you with significant savings on your prescription drugs

---

Finally, some reactions:

"When was the last time one of your freelance writing clients went to such lengths for you?" (Deb Ng, Freelance Writing Jobs)

"Demand Studios offers its freelancers group health, with coverage that appears almost worthless. Super." (@justinmclachlan, writer)

"Does Demand Studios understand what health insurance is? Not that its without any merit, but can't you get the same "coverage" thru unions?" (@YoPzelInsWriter, insurance writer)

"I was Thrilled to rcv this email!!" (@edentyler, writer)

Details on the healthcare plans that Demand Studios announced it would be offering to tenured creators have been finalized, and the results are mixed.

The plans on offer are "FlexShield" benefits from a company called Insurance Purchasing Solutions. (Incidentally, Insurance Purchasing Solutions basically does not exist on the 'net.)There are no copays and no deductibles, which sounds great until you realize that nothing is "covered" either. Instead, users of these plans will receive partial reimbursement from IPS when visiting an approved doctor. Depending on your monthly payment, the reimbursement changes: on the Demand Studios "Silver" plan, a single person (who'll pay about $90 a month) can see a doctor four times a year and receive a $50 reimbursement each time. An employee who has a broken bone treated can receive up to $1,000 reimbursed for the treatment of the bone itself, and if you have to stay in the hospital, you'll get additional reimbursement for your time there.

The kicker, though: "critical illness" like heart attack, cancer and stroke will only be reimbursed up to $10,000, and we all know that getting cancer costs way more than that. A nine-day stay in the hospital cost $30,000, says this personal finance blogger. So sucks if you get kidney failure, because now you're out twenty grand.
Clarification: Your first critical illness diagnosis can be reimbursed up to $10,000 (depending on the disease), but hospital stay reimbursement is cumulative on top of that--so nine days in the hospital with kidney failure costs you $15,500 on the silver plan or $11,000 on the platinum).

A rep for IPS told us over the phone that this service isn't intended to be a replacement for major medical insurance, but that depending on a person's situation, this plan may be right for them.

We've reached out to Demand Studios' rep for comment and will update this post when we hear back. DS rep Rose Maciejewski contacted us, and the info we got is too long for this blog post (so say we) so keep an eye out for the update.

What do you think? Was it too good to be true? Did Demand Studios snooker us all or are they offering something truly worthwhile?

We had a reader ask us about unemployment benefits and freelancing:
"I [have] opportunities to freelance but have issues with unemployment benefits," she asked. Any advice?

Collecting unemployment benefits and doing a little work on the side sounds like a great idea—after all, the state wants you to get back on your feet, right? But it can be tricky, as we've seen recently.

Here's what the New York State Department Of Labor has to say about freelancing (your state may vary):

Substantial activity in preparing for commencement of business may indicate not only unavailability but also lack of total unemployment, even though the venture is abandoned before it becomes operative.

A claimant is engaged in self-employment and therefore ineligible for benefits because he is not totally unemployed within the meaning of that term as defined by Section 522 of the Law when he devotes substantial time to a business in which he has a proprietary interest.

A claimant who works in his own business (3 to 4 hours on each of 3 to 4 nights weekly) is self-employed and therefore not totally unemployed, and it is irrelevant that this work in his own business does not interfere with his seeking or accepting full-time employment for wages.

It is axiomatic that unemployment insurance benefits are to be paid only to the unemployed....

But the good news is that if you pick up a little bit of work, you can still receive some benefits—they'll just be reduced. Here's how that works:

If you earn over $405 in a week, you'll receive no benefits for that week. If you work four days a week (even if your work for that day takes just a couple minutes), you'll receive no benefits.

If you work one day: you'll get 75% of your normal check
Two days: 50%
Three days: 25%
and four days: no check.

And listen: we are not attorneys or accountants here and this should not be construed as legal advice. Check with an expert familiar with your state's unemployment laws. Don't get burned like the Adsense blogger did.

Cathy Jones left a job at a national magazine to return home to Minnesota only to find that, despite having 13 years of experience, there weren't many options available to her. "When you're looking and you're a freelancer, you're spending a couple of hours a day trying to find stuff. You hit the job boards every day," she recalls.

Then Jones found Demand Studios, a flat-rate content site that pays $5-$25 an article. She wrote stories for the site, but switched to copy editing because the work was easier and more rewarding, she says. "When I first started freelancing [for them], I couldn't believe the low rate on these things, but if you can write 'How to troubleshoot your garbage disposal' in half an hour, that's $15. It's a different kind of writing; it's different tactics than your 'real' journalism."

Have you been curious about the differences between Demand Studios, Suite101, Examiner, and Associated Content? Do you still wonder why anyone would bother with revenue-sharing sites? You may be interested in our AG-only article by Maya Avrasin.

Maya didn't include About.com, which, as we understand it, has somewhat of a revenue-sharing model, but isn't straight up cash-for-pageviews like Examiner or some of the others. Still, if you've been wondering what the deal is and how these sites attract so many writers, do read on.

This article is one of several mediabistro.com features exclusively available to AvantGuild subscribers. If you're not a member yet, you can register for as little as $55, and start reading those articles, receive discounts on mediabistro.com seminars and workshops, and receive all sorts of other bonuses.

In February, the IRS will conduct 6,000 random audits of companies looking for all sorts of tax violations, but mostly, CFO Daily reports, they'll be targeting misclassified independent contractors.

When a worker who should be classified as an employee is instead classified as a contractor or a freelancer, states & the Feds lose out on taxes, and workers lose out on employee benefits.

But if you sign a contract saying you're a contractor, doesn't that make you one? Not entirely. To be a true independent contractor, you must be, well, independent. The IRS says that you, a freelancer, are really independent if the employer doesn't control the way the work is done or the way you run your business.

Warning flags include an "independent contractor" who has just one client, who works on-site, and who performs the same work as full-time employees.

For the most part, turning misclassified 1099 workers into employees is good for the employees—they'll get benefits, become covered by certain employment laws (governing medical leave and discrimination, for example), and pay less in taxes.

But a company found to have been misclassifying workers (it is cheaper to have an army of freelancers, after all) may just dump all its freelancers. We've heard this happened recently to Massachusetts-based freelancers who worked with one major publisher after it was audited by the Department of Labor looking for misclassifications. (Why just Massachusetts? Because of a high-profile case there where a company was busted.) So in the short term, freelancers do lose out when they find their source of work has dried up.

Thanks to BayNewser for pointing this out—the freelance guild we reported on in April is finally, yes finally, off and running with a new web site and a new logo.

The unit is part of the California Media Workers Guild and is open to all journalists in northern California. To get in, you'll have to be credentialed, "ensur[ing= the Guild Freelancer credential will deserve recognition," the Guild said in its announcement, which essentially means, amateur bloggers don't bother. But in this case, since the freelance unit is aiming to create a set of "fair freelance" rates and standards for Californian companies that use freelance journalists, it's probably fair for the guild to insist members meet a certain professional standard.

Anyway, the standards as well as the health insurance the unit wants to offer are yet to come, but if you're in NorCal, it's worth giving these folks a look.

Here's something for all you media folk contemplating a new venture.

The Leap isn't really about a leap. It's about the lack of one.

See, Rick Smith argues that to be truly successful, you don't have to bet everything and mortgage the house.

When he started his company, w50, he continued interviewing for a "real job" long after the checks started rolling in from customers.

Bill Gates, Smith reminds us, didn't "drop out of college to found Microsoft" - he didn't drop out for 12 months after selling BASIC to his first customer. And Sara Blakely, founder of SPANX, didn't quit her day job until the product was already a success and risked only $5000 of her own money. A writer friend of Smith's wanted to switch from magazine writing to books, but didn't quit his day job until he'd written several books during lunch, on his weekends, and before and after work.

The book is full of inspiring stories like these, reminding us that we can make huge changes in our work lives without having to bet the farm.

It all comes down to personality: call it Myers-Briggs if you want or "Primary Color" if you're Smith--essentially, he argues, as long as you come up with a great idea that's aligned with your personality, you won't fail. This isn't what people like to hear--we like to think that ideas are a dime a dozen and it's hard work that differentiates winners from losers--but Smith may be on to something. He summarizes success in three steps, which I'll paraphrase here:

1) Determine your personality type (your "primary color")

2) Come up with a selfless and simple idea that fits with your personality

3) Let success happen slowly, not overnight.

Smith's most successful when he shares what others have done; other how-to sections come across as a bit preachy. And I definitely don't buy the idea that Steve Jobs is selfless "because he builds products he thought should exist." That was the sourest note in an otherwise breezy read.

Are you interested in taking your own leap? Take the Primary Color test here to get your own primary color/personality type. We'll randomly select one test-taker between now and Nov. 15 to win a copy of The Leap.

You'll now have to wait til next week to hear the deets on Demand Studios' healthcare offerings. Why? Response was too positive.

The company tells us that so many creators expressed interest, Demand decided to re-negotiate the particulars of its plans and get even better rates.

Until the details of the plans are released, we remain cautiously optimistic, so this delay is frustrating.

The announcement was made in a creator-only area of the site (aka, you'll have to sign up with Demand in order to read what's behind this link), or you can click the jump to read what the company wrote.

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