I often come across fellow sex workers tweeting about wanting to quit their vanilla job, but needing it for the insurance. Since we do not technically qualify as “employees” of the platforms we use to sell our content or stream on, we are tasked with finding insurance on our own. This is very limiting to what plans we qualify for and even in most cases the time frame we have available to enroll.
This is because you are an independent contractor, or 1099 worker. Due to business regulations, companies are not required to provide 1099 workers with benefits. As some health insurance companies won’t accept them in a group business plan. Without boring you of all the technical terms, legalities and bullshit I’ll explain the issue with our insurance enrollment in a way that makes more sense.
Most major medical coverage companies do not have year round enrolling, meaning there is a window of time that we call Open Enrollment. If you miss that window, usually from November to January you must wait until fall of the next year for the new enrollment period. Many miss this small window due to unforeseen circumstances and believe they have no other options. We will get more into this later on!
While our healthcare system as Americans is a little weird, it will start to make more sense to you the more you read this website and involve yourself in your healthcare journey. Eventually we all start needing to see doctors and specialists – and not just ourselves but our children and family members as well. The best gift you can give yourself as an American, which will sound silky, is the education of the healthcare system. A lot has changed since our parents were 25, and a lot can change in the future. When it comes to healthcare it’s never too early to prepare.
Comments