Welcome to Out Of Your Rut?s 20 Part-time Jobs with Health Insurance, updated for 2018. I decided this topic is so important, that I?ll update it each year.
Let me state for the record that a part-time job with health insurance are not a perfect solution. However, if you?ve been researching America?s health insurance situation in the last few years, you know there are no perfect solutions. Were mostly trying to make the best of a bad situation.
But part-time jobs with health insurance can be a workable solution to health insurance for someone who is self-employed, does contract or gig work, or works in a job that doesn?t offer health insurance.
And if I can add a personal endorsement, my family benefited from health insurance provided by my wife?s part-time job, from early 2015 through late 2017 (she?s now on full-time status with coverage in a different job entirely). So for me and my family, a part-time job with health insurance isn?t just a theory, but a reality.
All information has been verified on relevant employer websites and is deemed accurate as of May, 2018.
There Are More Part-time Jobs With Health Insurance Than We Generally Assume
Technically speaking, there are part-time jobs with health insurance everywhere. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), ?full-time? is defined as 30 hours per week or more, or 130 hours per month.
That means that if an employer has at least 50 employees and offers health insurance coverage, you are legally entitled to participate in the plan if you work at least 30 hours per week. 30 or more hours per week may be a heavy part-time schedule, but it?s less than the traditional 40-hour workweek.
In addition, this list is not meant to be comprehensive. Rather, it?s meant to provide examples of what?s available out there. Each employer may be a starting point in your search. If one employer in an industry is offering part-time jobs with health insurance, it?s likely that at least some of their competitors are doing the same. If you see a company on this list, you may find that coverage is available with other competitors in their industry.
As well, Healthcare.gov has a webpage set up for part-time employees with no coverage. I didn?t do a deep dive on the site, but I suspect the usual health insurance exchange offerings, made less expensive by the lower income and tax credits that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers. But feel free to do your own research there, and report back if you think it?s worth it.
20 Part-Time Jobs With Health Insurance 2018
The 2018 list has only two changes from 2017. Gone are Caribou Coffee and Fifth Third Bank. It?s not because those companies have categorically ended part-time jobs with health insurance, but because it?s no longer clear on their webpages. On this list, I?ve included only companies that clearly state the availability of part-time jobs with health insurance on their sites.
Taking the place of Caribou Coffee and Fifth Third Bank are Citi and Lowes. These employers may have provide the coverage in the past, but it had not been apparent on their websites.
Other information has been updated where necessary, including new web links where available.
So let?s get to 20 Part-time Jobs with Health Insurance, 2018:
1. JP Morgan Chase
JP Morgan Chase offers health insurance to employees who work at least 20 hours per week. The program provides medical, dental and vision coverage. There is a waiting period of 90 days for part-timers to be eligible for benefits, but you can include family members on your plan. Coverage is provided by CIGNA and United healthcare, and also includes dental and vision coverage.
2. Starbucks
Starbucks covers their employees under their Your Special Blend benefits package that includes health insurance and other benefits. You are eligible for coverage if you work (effectively) at least 20 hours per week, but you must work at least 240 hours within a three-consecutive month period to qualify. Dental and vision coverage are also available.
The company has recently disclosed that they pay 70% of the premiums for their employees, and cover 100% of preventative medicine.
3. Lowe?s
Lowe?s benefits package for part-time employees includes medical, as well?s prescription drug coverage. They also include dental and vision. Benefits take effect within 31 days of employment. They don?t specify the minimum number of hours to qualify, but the screenshot below shows the three plans offered:
4. Southwest Airlines
There?s no indication of how many hours are required to be considered an eligible part-timer, but Southwest indicates that it does offer health insurance benefits for part-time employees. And if the health insurance coverage isn?t enough, they have one of the most generous employee-flies-free policies in the industry.
5. UPS
UPS offers health insurance and a host of other benefits to its part-time employees, and it has for years. A friend of mine who works for UPS says that you must pay out of pocket for the premiums on your family members. I?ve never known him to be wrong.
For 2018, the company is more specific about its time requirements. For union jobs, you need to work at least 400 hours in three months, and you will be eligible for full time benefits. 225 to 400 hours in three months makes you eligible for part-time benefits, including medical. Several reader comments below indicate there?s a minimum of a one-year waiting period to be eligible for benefits.
6. Costco
Costco offers health insurance for its part-timers. You must average at least 23 hours per week to maintain coverage. That coverage begins the first day of the second month after you?ve completed 450 eligible hours, which sounds like something close to six months.
You may include your spouse and children in the coverage, but they also allow you to include parents and grandparents as well.
7. The Fresh Market
The Fresh Market offers medical coverage and other benefits to employees who work a minimum of 30 hours per week. They offer “low cost medical, prescription, life, dental and vision coverage” for their part-time employees, and their eligible dependents. The 30 hour requirement is certainly heavy part-time, but it is part-time. The coverage is available after 60 days of continuous employment.
8. Safeway
Safeway does offer part-time jobs with health insurance, but it may not be across the board. Whether or not it’s available will depend on the store and its location. It may be common practice in some areas of the country, but non-existent in others.
9. BB&T Bank
North Carolina based BB&T offers health insurance to its part-time staff who are regularly scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week. Coverage is with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. It is available in other states through the ?Blue Card? program.
10. Hospitals
Many hospitals provide health insurance benefits to their part-time staff. Many of those jobs are in non-medical capacities, including cafeteria staff, administrative personnel, maintenance workers and security guards. Examples include Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, Florida Hospital in Orlando, FL, and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CA).
That’s just three of the hundreds of hospitals across the country that offer health insurance to part-time workers, so check with hospitals in your area. I?d also add large local medical practices to the list as well.
11. County Governments
Many county governments do offer coverage, so this is a real option. For example, just doing a brief search I found that San Mateo County (CA) (minimum 20 hours per week), Hillsborough County (FL) (was 20 hours per week in 2017, but is now 30 hours 2018), and Calvert County (MD) (??scheduled to work 50 percent or more of the normal pay period?) all offer medical coverage for part-timers. Check with the county where you live, or those that are close by.
12. Aetna
Aetna’s benefit page reads “Aetna 2018 Benefits Overview for Regular U.S. Employees (working 20 hours or more per week)”, which shouldn’t be a surprise since they are an insurance company. In fact, the health insurance plans that they provide are through Aetna, and include an HSA or health reimbursement account (HRA). And no surprise again, they also provide vision and dental coverage, as well as other employee benefits for part-time staff.
13. REI
REI offers medical plans to part-time employees averaging 20 hours or more per week, under their REI Flex Plan, where you can choose from several medical plans for yourself and your dependents. They pay for most of employees? medical plan cost, which is unusual for part-time jobs with health insurance.
14. Whole Foods
Whole Foods part-time employees are eligible for benefits if they work at least 20 hours per week and have successfully completed a probationary period of employment. Check out the location you are applying at to make sure that the benefit is actually available.
15. Aerotek
Aerotek is an international temporary agency that offers medical benefits to its contract workers who work at least 20 hours per week. Medical benefits include dental and vision coverage, extending to spouses and dependent children. Benefit coverage begins on the first of the month following or coinciding with your date of hire
16. Colleges and Universities
The University of Georgia offers not only health insurance but also dental, vision and other benefits, including retirement plan options. In order to qualify you must work ?75% time?, which we can presume to be 30 hours per week or more on a regular basis.
The University of Illinois also offers health insurance for part-time employees who work 50-99% of a normal work period are defined as part-time insurance employees.
The point is, colleges and universities do offer part-time jobs with health insurance, so check with one in your area.
17. Citi Bank
Citi may have been offering part-time jobs with health insurance all along, but it?s only become clear on the website recently. You need to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, and your benefit eligible after 90 days. (The benefits guide is 366 pages, but skip to Page 13.) As one of the largest banks in the country, they have branches all over the place.
18. SunTrust Bank
SunTrust is a major bank located throughout the Southeastern US, and it offers health insurance to part-time employees. They have several plans, each including prescription drug coverage, including an HSA in combination with the basic health insurance plan. Unfortunately, they don?t indicate how many hours required to qualify as part-time for benefit purposes.
19. Credit Unions
Like their close relatives, the banks, part-time jobs with health insurance seem to be pretty common among credit unions too. One example is DCU Credit Union, based in Massachusetts. They offer medical, dental and vision to full and part-time employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week, and also covers family members. Best of all, the coverage begins from the date of hire.
My wife?s part-time job with health insurance was from a competing credit union, so if you?re looking for part-time jobs with health insurance, consider credit unions.
20. Delta Airlines
Delta Airlines provides health insurance coverage to part-time employees and their eligible dependents. In fact, they offer three different plans, depending on where you live. They offer a full range of benefits to part-time employees even apart from health insurance, making it a desirable place to establish a solid part-time career, if that’s your choice.
Caveats to be Aware of When it Comes to Part-Time Jobs with Health Insurance
As I wrote at the outset, everything connected with health insurance has become imperfect, and that includes part-time jobs with health insurance. If you?re applying for these jobs, please be aware of the following:
- An employer that offers part-time jobs with health insurance now may not have it a year from now.
- The employer subsidy on health insurance plans for part-timers is usually not as generous as it is for full timers. It?s even possible that there may be no subsidy at all.
- Plans may cover the employee only, and not the employee?s family.
- Watch out for employers that offer limited benefit plans. These are not true health insurance, as they will only pay a flat fee for certain health conditions. As well they will not exempt you from the Obamacare penalty for not having health insurance.
- Be sure that you?re very familiar with the details of the insurance coverage for any part-time job you accept, if getting health insurance is the primary reason for taking the job.
The whole idea of part-time jobs with health insurance worked brilliantly for my family for nearly three years. The reality is that there are all kinds of different situations with different people, but I think this offers a real solution to the healthcare dilemma in a lot of cases.
At a minimum, part-time jobs with health insurance can provide cost-effective health insurance from a non-traditional source. But longer term, it could be the perfect way for a self-employed person, or someone doing gig work, to get coverage without having to resort to the super-expensive policies on the healthcare exchanges.
Have you had any experience with part-time jobs with health insurance? Please share your experience if you have. Also, feel free to suggest other employers who offer coverage for part-timers.
Costco and Trader Joe’s might work for me. Good list. I heard REI also offers health insurance for part timers.
Hi Joe, I’m thinking Starbucks for me, if the need arises. As a blogger I hang out there and work with friends just to avoid the cabin fever issue. Free WiFi! With health insurance the whole package would flow nicely.
What a great idea, thanks! I’ve been thinking of getting a part time job, now I know where to look.
Hi Kakidasa–Just check to see if ANY employer you apply to has health insurance for part-timers. I was surprised at how many do. I think it’s one of the best kept secrets in the job market right now. A lot of companies that run on part-timers have to sweeten the pot to attract them and health insurance is probably the best incentive of all.
Thanks Kevin, I have posted this to my Facebook. I knew about Starbucks, they have been doing this for years.
LOL, not surprised about Walmart as when I worked for them as a cashier many years ago, if you could not afford their insurance – it was the welfare route to go if you qualified. I saw many single parent cashiers having to do this and it was like, you are working for Walmart?????
It is places like Walmart that the media needs to keep an eye on. I finally got about $700 out of them for not giving us our required lunch time breaks. This was in Orlando, Florida. They are not required to give breaks, but after working a maximum of 6 hours, their registers now shut down. When I was working, they kept you on the register and lied about you getting a lunch and fired you if you complained. Sad to say, it took a group class action suit to get this fixed. LOL, it was years before I got the check in the mail, but God was good and it was forwarded to my new address. That was God as the post office only forwards mail for a certain time. Thank you JESUS as I sure needed that cash.
Hi Angela, sorry to hear about your Wal-Mart experience. Still there are enough part time jobs with health insurance that we have some options, especially when pre-existing conditions make getting private coverage hard, expensive or impossible. And that’s what this post is about–options!
Thanks for sharing this long list Kevin of part time jobs with benefits. I’ve heard stories about Walmart as Angela shared above. It’s a shame. They are supposedly the department store giant. I guess they feel that they can behave this way and get away with it. Walmart moved into my area and caused one of my favorite stores to go out of business. I was never a fan of Walmart.
Hi Vernette–I’ve heard stories as well, but at the same time I have to give Walmart–or any other company that provides health coverage to their part time staff–a lot of credit for doing so. All things being equal, I’d take a part time job with health insurance over one that doesn’t offer it. Even if it isn’t perfect coverage, it’s worth having; we’re getting to a time when every health plan out there has flaws. It’s part of the way health insurance companies are dealing with the relentless rise in healthcare costs.
As to Walmart running stores out of business, that unfortunately is the Big Box model. Every large company is doing that to one degree or another. Walmart gets most of the criticism because they’re the most efficient at doing it. We’re all to blame too as consumers. We want to pay the lowest price for everything we buy–and again Walmart is very good at delivering this to us–but we don’t realize that we’re paying for low prices through lost jobs. This is a big part of the employment problems we’re having nationwide and why I don’t think it will get better any time soon. Ironically, the more jobs that are lost, the more people are pushed to buy at the big box retailers because that’s all they can afford. It’s a great big Catch-22.
Starbucks is interesting, in that you have to work any (even part-time) hours they give you, at any location they choose to get this health insurance-it can mean a good deal of driving around to get to the location you are scheduled for.
Hi Janet–I’m sure there’s a hoop or two at any employer who will provide health insurance. But if it’s the difference between having coverage or not, it will still be worth the effort. Unfortunately, the world of low stress jobs with regular hours and responsibilities is gone, even in part time work.
The Renaissance Hotel I work at, which is under Marriott management, offers health insurance to employees who work an average of 30 hours/week over a three month period. 🙂
Hi Laura–I had heard rumor that Marriott offered health insurance to part timers, but left them off the list because I couldn’t confirm it. Thanks for adding it!
A note for Krogers, part-timers are eligible after 9 months to get insurance. I work in Houston, but I’d imagine it’s the same for all Krogers
Hi Travis–I did some research on this when writing the article. Grocery chains are not typically uniform in their health insurance offerings. Some districts or individual stores will offer it while others won’t. And terms can vary as well.
I don’t think I’d want to wait 9 months for coverage, but if there were no other choice it would seem like an oasis in the desert!
Yeah, I really didn’t have a choice. It was either that or start over at another job. I was transitioning from my parents insurance off at age 26 to Kroger’s, so I only had to wait a few months in effect.
Glad to hear it worked out for you Travis. I didn’t include Kroger on the list because it didn’t appear that they offer health insurance for part-timers at all of their stores. But that seems to be true of the grocery industry in general.
It will be interesting to see what happens to these plans beginning in 2014. The Affordable Care Act lists ten essential health benefits, and applies other mandates for group health plans.
Many of the limited benefit plans popular with these employers do not meet the criteria. Also, part time workers may be able to purchase subsidized policies through their state exchanges.
Hi Kevin–I see PPACA as a game changer, once it rolls out in full all bets are off. My guess is that premiums will skyrocket (using Mass. as an example) and that people will flock to group plans. But the group plans will look different than they do now, and probably be more expensive too (as you said, in order to comply).
We have a healthcare nightmare in the US that I’m not at all sure is even partially addressed by reform. Unless we can get control of the cost side, we’ll probably continue in some form of escalating crisis until a meltdown forces real reform.
My latest job actually gives us free health insurance which I thought was pretty cool. In fact, they say its free, but actually they take $75 out of my salary each month, just goes to show, nothing is free in life eh?
$75 doesn’t sound like free, but as an employee contribution it’s way down on the low end of the scale. I know people who pay 100% of the cost, and others who have to pay 100% of coverage for family members.
Might want to check into the logistics of the “health insurance” plan actually administered by a legit Cigna Health Care for part time employees of JCPenney. I was told that I would get the same plan as the manager who interviewed me but upon checking into the plan it showed that employee must contribute approx $100 per month for a maximum yearly payout of $1000 in one year, so the premium is higher than the payout They actually make money on this plan on the poor individuals who they sucker into believing that no one would lie to them. Check into the JCP story on part time health care and you might want to retract them in your article or do another update in the article. Some companies actually do offer a legit program, but JCP does not and yet they can still call this a PPO health insurance plan. New employee beware!
Hi Debbie, thanks for the heads up. The situation at JC Penny has been changing rapidly in the past year or so, so it’s hard to keep track.
I’m an employee for Trader Joes and work part time and have received full medical, dental, retirement benefits for years for working just 17-20 hours a week. Are you ready for this – Trader Joe’s just came out and is dropping medical benefits for part time employees. Now any employee that works less than 30 hours a week will be dropped. They will now have to go on to the health exchanges and buy their own insurance. Just received letter from our headquaters. Huge disappointment – my wife and I are deciding now what we need to do.
Hi Jon – Thanks for the update. I’ve stricken it from the post.
this must be old information. Companies are now hiring part time at 16 hours max. per week so that they do not have to pay for benefits. Barnes and Noble is one good example, and any restaurant just try and good luck you will find dead ends everywhere.
MY job offers group insurance but to include my unemployed wife on the plan will cost just short of 500.00 monthly. We will be homeless for sure if we were to sign up for it. Do not qualify for Obama care. Not really sure what to do at this point for her.
No Bill, it’s from this past spring. There’s a lot of speculation on it because of the roll out of Obamacare, and companies are adjusting their policies. But companies like Starbucks DO have legitimate health insurance for part-time workers. I understand your position, but I wouldn’t be too negative, otherwise you might shut the door on some decent opportunities.
Bill, she might want to try one of these part-time arrangements then. It’s worth it to get a job just for health insurance. Otherwise try a catastrophic plan with a very high deductible. At least you’ll have the larger bills covered, plus you’ll have more options in a major medical situation. No health insurance at all is the worst outcome.
Does anyone know of companies that have a zero or shorter grace period than 90 days for health coverage?
Toys R Us/Babies R Us offers insurance to part time employees. You don’t even have to wait 90. You can apply the day you get hired.
Hi Stacy – I hadn’t heard about them offering coverage, but it sounds logical. I’ll have to do some research and add a link. Thanks for the information.
I am an employee of UPS….there is a waiting period of one year for any health benefits.
Hi Missy – Thanks for the update. For some people who have no other choice, the one year wait might be worth it. A friend of mine who works for UPS also said that they provide coverage for the employee only, and coverage for other family members must be paid out of pocket. Depending on what the cost is for your family members, it may or may not be worth it.
I work in human resources at one of the above listed department stores. I believe most if not all of them are referring to health savings accounts which we all know are not health insurance.
Hi Sandy – I don’t doubt it. That said, my wife just started a part-time job (20 hours per week) at a local bank that provides health insurance, so there are situations out there where it’s available.
This is a great article, but maybe the costs have changed since you wrote it. The “bronze” plan that we could buy, the one that covers about nothing, is $900 a month with a $13,000 deductible. We opted for one that covers more that is 1241 a month. Yikes, three times our mortgage payment. Thank goodness we live in a cheap house, otherwise we would be without health insurance. Another thing to note is that the plans available for individuals suck. We had united healthcare last year, tinkled away over $1000 a month and they wiggled out of paying most everything for one reason or another. Kevin, I was thinking of doing temporary insurance one year, then regular insurance the next, then temporary, etc. Do you know if this would work, is there a limit to the number of times you can get on a temporary plan? I also wondered if you lose your insurance because you can’t afford to make a payment, do you have a right to re-enroll at any time or do you have to wait until the open enrollment period?
Hi Robin – I didn’t even give Obamacare quotes in this article, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Also, my understanding (which could be wrong) is that Obamacare deductible/out-of-pocket limit is $6,500. I wasn’t aware of a $13k deductible. A deductible that high is like having no health insurance at all, since close to 90-something percent of all claims would be paid out of pocket. And that’s in addition to more than $10k per year in health insurance premiums.
I don’t know enough about temporary policies to say if they’re worth having. One of the major issues though is whether or not they’re Obamacare compliant (meaning you won’t have to pay a penalty for not having coverage).
UPS does offer medical, vision and dental insurance, that they pay for BUT the last couple of years adjusted the waiting period to a year. You must be a part-time employee for a year before the insurance kicks in, but it’s very good insurance…That’s why I’m there.
Hi Janet – The one year waiting period is what I’m hearing all over. Is it also true that the company paid coverage does not include an employee’s family?
I applied for a part time job who claimed to offer health insurance for employees no matter how many hours they worked. A COMPLETE LIE. You had to be full time to get them.
Hi Marie – I’m sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t believe them in the first place unless it was clearly stated on their website. That’s why I verified and backlinked just about all of the employers on this list (which have been updated in more recent editions of this post).
A disturbing trend has been developing in recent years in which employers routinely lie to get people to accept jobs. This is the first time I’m hearing of it with health insurance. It’s much more common in regard to bonuses, overtime, rank, promotion and even base salary. I’ve even seen them lie about the job description, which is extremely common when it comes to sales and telemarketing jobs.
You really have to cross examine employers and get third party references before accepting a job. Honesty seems to be yet another casualty of the times. What’s ironic is that if you lie to them they can fire you. What’s their penalty for lying???
Hi Kevin:
Regarding your comment to Marie about employers lying about anything or everything just to get employees in the door, I have found this to be true. My own family experience it when the husband left a very good, and I mean very good, high-paying, $100 grand/yr job to work for a smaller company. After a few years, he would gradually buy the business. This employer lied about the salary, the bonuses, everything. He even had it all put in writing on the acceptance letter, but he never paid it. My family member, who has a wife and two small children, was forced to leave after three months of fighting and having to pack up, sell their home and move across the country to another job. It was devastating for them, not to mention the cost. So, yeah, it’s ugly out there for many people now. I say think long and hard before making big decisions on employment changes.
Hi Bev – Years ago I did a mortgage for a family moving to Atlanta from the Midwest. The husband accepted a top management job with a company that would pay him several thousand dollars per year. On that promise – written and legal – the family moved to Georgia and bought a house in the $800k range with a very large mortgage. Only days after the closing the company let him go. Apparently they only needed him for credibility in some sort of financing deal. Once they got their deal, they got rid of him. The family had to sell the house and return to the Midwest. I’m sure they took a loss on the sale, to say nothing of the blow to this guy’s confidence. I’ve heard and seen that happening to foot soldiers, but this was my first experience with someone who was near the top of the corporate chain. I suspect this is more common than we generally assume. I’ve heard of others who have been transferred to a small city on a fat salary, only to be let go months later. In a small city, there may be no comparable jobs so the family has to move again. That’s a tough way to live. And all because the truth doesn’t matter.
Well said…”The truth doesn’t matter.” I suppose many of us know someone who has endured these types of horror stories or have had it happen to ourselves. I don’t know what’s happening out there anymore or what happened to values. Perhaps it’s best to live big by living small. P.S. After more consideration, we’re staying up north…something about the ‘road less traveled…! 🙂 Thanks again for your conversation about this.
FedEx Express gives health insurance to part time employees. And the latest issue of Forbes magazine of top 100 companies says that there are 20,000 job openings currently at FedEx Express.
Hi Tracey – That makes perfect sense since UPS offers it. Thanks for the contribution. I’ll include it on this year’s updated post in the Spring.
I don’t know if it was said above. I didn’t read all the comments. Just be aware, everybody. Make sure if you decide to take one of these jobs that your clear on the hours.
A lot of these companies will offer insurance if you work 30 hrs per week and they will send you home an hour early one day. Or hire more people to keep everybody’s hours under the requirement.
There might be a couple of longer time employees that get the benefit but overall it turns into a numbers game. Most people usually get screwed out of benefits. They don’t care if you quit. It usually takes someone three or four months to figure out your not going to get what you thought by then they have some other person waiting in the wings.
It usually a paper shuffle for the business to cover there tracks to justify not giving you more hours. It’s not hard.
That’s a good warning Tim, I’ve heard exactly that happening. But then I’ve heard of pt jobs limiting hours even when health insurance wasn’t offered. There’s some new HR method, something like “zero scheduling” where companies maintain minimal staffing at all times based on prior year’s cycles. If only five people were needed on this day one year ago, then only five will be scheduled today. It’s a way to keep payroll to an absolute minimum, but it’s also why so many part-time jobs are so stressful.
Computers make the staffing limits. The economy is now being run by algorithms, since the human mind is now considered incapable of making rational value decisions. We’ve reached the point of a world run by machines. But that faith is misplaced, because it relies entirely on historic data based on numbers, and always the overriding assumption that the future is completely predictable. So a crush of customers hits a business on a 5 people day, and they can’t handle the load. Business is lost, and the reputation of the business is marred. All because the machine said so.
That said, when my wife had a pt job with health insurance, she typically worked more than the 20 or 30 hour minimum, due to staffing needs. The same algorithms that limit the number of hours worked per employee, also limits the number of people on staff. When sick-outs and vacations hit, the pt-ers often work more. But it all depends on the employer, and the industry. In my wife’s case, she was working for a credit union. Since they’re customer focused, they don’t want to get caught short-handed.
A part-time job that is customer focused will give out the hours to cover shifts but they also have that lovely computer program that lets them know when someone is close to the limit and will demand action (usually a substantial cut in hours for a week.) A person classified as a part-timer can only work a total of 1500 hours yearly totally or they have to be classified as a full-time, which is why a lot of companies try to use a salary for personnel who work full time to justify a 45 hour work week. That’s why most part-timers work maximum hours of 28 hours a week.
I think it is great that some places have a health plan for part-timers but I advise everyone to read the fine print as to limitations. As with all the new healthcare plans, there’s a big difference between what we think should be covered and what is covered, mainly because there’s no law liability on individual need coverage only what is prescribed by the ACA mandate which we have discussed many times on this blog as both restricting and overcovering services because it is cost-saving for the insurers, not the actual users of healthcare.
My big peeve is the lack of transparency in costs before a service is rendered so you can at least pre-budget your out of pocket costs, along with deciding to get the needed medical treatment.
Another comment on those algorithms on staffing needs, the total number of hours of 1500 hours for a part-timer yearly includes the sick-outs, personal, and vacation hours in that total. Best way to deal with this in your budget is not accepting those extra hours in a specific week unless when the cuts in hours come (as expected) you decide how and when. So if you work a 45 hour work week this week, you choose when to take the time off in the following weeks to keep average hours even. Don’t give the employer that choice, especially a Company like Walmart.
Hi Maria Rose – Your point about 28 hours reminds me of an article I wrote back in 2013 on the same topic Get Ready for the 29 Hour Workweek. I predicted – somewhat prematurely – that companies would transition over to 29 hours due to Obamacare. It’s taken longer than I expected, but it does seem to be happening. I think this is also why a lot of full time jobs have become full-time-plus. The full timers are having to work extra hours – often unpaid – to keep the part-timers under the 30 hour threshold.
You’re right about reading the fine print in the health plans. But that’s for ANY health insurance plan these days. We now have coverage from a full time job, and it’s no less complicated than what we had with part-time job coverage. Health insurance has turned into a matrix, where you have to run multiple if/then scenarios before going to the doctor. Our plan just took away our choice of drug providers, we now have to go to CVS for all prescriptions, and any maintenance med must be 90 days supplies, which means a larger copay at refill.
Health insurance is heading in a direction that won’t benefit any of us. But it’s all because we’ve already passed “Peak Healthcare”. This whole thing is unraveling now, and higher premiums and copays is how it’s playing out. We should expect more of the same until the current system hits its terminal phase. I think that’s closer than most of us think.
I find this interesting. How is it that there are 20,000 jobs listed at fed ex website with health care and people are not trying to get them?
Another question I have Kevin. Why in the world would you sell your home? Move your family across the country and buy an 800k home without trying the job for a bit? If it was me I would have gone on my own and worked 6 months first then made the move if it was what you thought.
I did this. When I first retired from law enforcement. I was hired in Atlanta at a private security firm. I was one of the area supervisors in downtown Atlanta for this company. I went and left my family here. I wanted to be sure first. I knew after three weeks I wasn’t staying. I told them right away. I stayed an extra two months until they could find a new person. Then I returned back home and started my own business. No harm. I didn’t sell my home or uproot my family without knowing for sure.
You always have to protect your backside before doing anything permanent.
Sometimes I just shake my head when I read this stuff. Yes, I understand he gave up a good job but he compounded his problem by doing what he did. Worst case was he went home and found another job.
On the Fedex thing, my guess is people don’t want to do the work involved. A lot of the jobs are physically demanding. Otherwise maybe there’s a flaw in the coverage. But then there’s a flaw (or two) in all coverages today. As to taking the out of town job, I’ve always wondered the same thing. People are often too optimistic when taking on new opportunities, and maybe they think it’s bad Karma to not throw themselves in with reckless abandon. It’s also greed. They’re looking only at the money. Plus we live in a reality-optional world, where people think nothing bad can happen. It comes from watching too much TV, hanging out only with optimists, and visiting too many only-good-things-happen websites. Seriously, a lot of people think nothing bad can happen (just look at the way a lot of people drive!). To me, it’s a form of insanity.
Yes, I guess I’m wired different. I always consider the what if this happens or that happens. You always have to consider what can or could go wrong and how can I protect myself the best I can.
Feel good is fantasy. It’s ok to be optimistic but with caution.
As far as the Fed ex thing. Maybe your right. People would rather sit around and whine and collect checks than work. I know it is physically demanding but unless you physically can’t work why wouldn’t you. For the health care alone. Once you start working things have a way of coming to you if your looking for a better job. It’s like money goes to money. Jobs go to people who are out there trying. Never ever would I look crossways at anybody trying. Even if there at McDonald’s. At least there trying.
It took a long time for us to make the jump but we finally dropped our health insurance and switched to a medical bill sharing program – there are about 4 of them as far as I can tell. The one we chose was Samaritan Ministries. There’s also one called MediShare some others. So our monthly premium is more like $535 instead of $1500 a month and so far it’s worked well. We have to cover all of our prescription cost and doctor visit costs but other things get paid at 100% when the cost exceeds $300 with some exceptions. I would recommend looking into this if you are just in that place where paying for health insurance is making you poor.
Hi Maggie – I’m familiar with MediShare. I think though they’re Christian Ministries, I think they may be the future of health insurance. They’re more like healthcare cooperatives, not true insurance, but they have the same effect. And since they’re much less expensive, they’ll work for more people. The current system of $1500 per month premiums for $5,000 deductible plans can’t go on much longer. A health insurance broker once told me such a plan is like having no insurance at all, because you pay for everything unless it’s really major. The healthsharing ministries may be the solution.
I agree with you, Kevin. And although the Christian aspect of the plan suits my family just fine, I would like to see this kind of sharing plan available in the secular community as well. All of the Christian sharing plans have slightly different requirements and membership options so it’s a good idea to check them all out if one is interested.
That’s what I’m hoping Maggie. I’m a Bible-believing Christian myself, but I’d like to see the health sharing concept expand to the non-faith market. It’s an excellent model, and an example of what insurance really should be – burden sharing. I think that kind of system, were it to dominate the market, would also work to lower healthcare costs. The current healthcare-health insurance alliance seems more than a bit unholy to me, as if the primary purpose is to facilitate ever higher prices. And that’s why I think it will eventually blow up. No system can grow to infinity, no matter how cleverly constructed it seems to be in the moment.
Burden sharing is a an operative wording, but the concept portrayed by thes Health Ministries is fair?everyone pays a share. But like everything else, the ones participating are all paying, which is not what happens in the full population. I can only see this working well for those of us who pay costs for our healthcare not for those who receive healthcare fully subsidized by government using others? input to cover costs. ( Main concept of most insurance plans, those who pay cover cost of those who don?t). Without everyone paying for cost there?s no evening out costs burden.
Like everyone has said, how do we get this concept of cost burden sharing across the full population whic would lower costs of fee even more. Or do we simply develop this for those of us 44% ( that majority of full cost unaffordable health care payers). It would leave a big gap in the marketplace of health care insurers with the top 10% paying for their fully covered care and those 46% receiving subsidized costs . By totally removing ourselves from the healthcare marketplace, we will force change HOPEFULLY.
That’s exactly what I see playing out Maria Rose (BTW, is Rose part of your first name, or is it your last name?). I think the 44% who are at the mercy of the commercial market/ACA will move toward health sharing plans, and gradually abandon the mainstream market. That will leave the top 10% with gold-plated coverage – which they can well afford – while the 46% continue to be subsidized by government. The last group is an imbalance that will continue to cost all of society, since it can’t be easily unwound, particularly Medicare.
Change will come from the bottom, and I suspect the next recession will accelerate the process. Millions will lose their jobs and their employer provided coverage and go without. But once they’re re-employed or become self-employed (another wave I see coming due to the loss of living wage jobs), they’ll need a cheaper alternative to mainstream health insurance.
We shouldn’t expect some sort of top down national system from the government. I don’t care if anyone’s faithfully devoted to the Democrats or the Republicans, we’re now in full-fledged political paralysis. No one in government wants to do anything radical or decisive for fear of losing their seats or their funding. We’re increasingly on our own – except of course for incessant government interference – to find solutions to our biggest problems. That will increasing include housing, healthcare, employment and even educating our kids. The System can no longer repair itself, all it can do is tinker at the edges and proclaim it to be true reform.
Kevin?that?s my full first name?blame it on my mother who chose it based on a dream. Would you rather I use a nickname.
As far as including Medicare?most of that 46% is on Medicaid? part of which is seniors, partly but not the majority. Putting the work requirements on the able bodied individuals will at least get them to contribute to the FICA tax fund as it is one tax you can?t eliminate from a paycheck. Plus there?s has to be a better evaluation of who qualified, here?s where technology could help with better records,etc.
Sorry I am a bit negative towards the abusive fraud unchecked by the administration of Medicaid but I have seen the wrong people abuse the system ( driving Cadilllacs, dripping in jewels, all dolled up) while the ones who really need the help get nothing or fined with high penalties,etc for making a few dollars more over the top maximum. Medicare is just the name they call healthcare after 65, which all seniors except the rich get classified into. I don?t have the Medicaid /Medicare double coverage because my Social Securty benefits is ?too high ? plus I pay out of my Social Security for Medicare, the cost of which has increased twice in the 18 months that I have been on it. Plus I pay all costs beyond coverage for doctors visits and a separate fee for a drug coverage plan. I don?t have a one of those Medicare plus plans because they are an additional cost for the premium on top of the Medicare costs with very little difference in coverage.
You talk about having control of the costs for healthcare but none of the plans you discuss because of lack of asking the questions ever mention how they include seniors into program. I have dealt with looking at plans from both sides (pre-senior and senior).What changes when you become senior is removal of coverage to only what they, not you consider basic coverage. Things like vision care, dental care and WellCare programs which keep you healthy are more needed as you age.
Let?s hope we find a better solution.
I’m with you on Medicaid. As of February there are 74 million people on the plan, and that’s according to Medicaid.gov. That’s nearly one out of every four people in the country. It means either there’s a lot of people on it who shouldn’t be, or this country is a lot poorer than we generally assume it to be. Either way, a plan that puts 10s of millions on healthcare without any cost to them is unsustainable.
As to Medicare, there’s no alternative to that plan due to the fact that traditional insurance won’t cover the older population. I don’t even think health sharing ministries would pick that group up, but we can dare to dream. I know MediShare offers Medicare supplement equivalent, so maybe there’s hope.
Of course we’re way off topic to the subject of this article, but these detours are inevitable, given the magnitude of the the health care problem.
Hi Kevin, I came across your post from Google when I was surfing the knowledge of part-time jobs I reached your article. Really a great post with finest ideas for part-time jobs with health insurance. And nowadays college students are in the search for part-time to make a decent income to face their daily expenses by themselves. This post is very useful to me and also helps the college students to make money. Thanks for sharing this post. Keep sharing the more valuable post like this with us.
Thanks Thiranya! I’ve intended to use this article as a resource, so I’m keeping it updated, at least once each year. I hope as many people benefit from it as possible, including colleges students.