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

"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)