More Demand Studios Reactions From Outside

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?

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