Portable health care would offer flexibility

Nearly 1 million Floridians reported independent contracting as their primary source of income in 2021, a figure that has been increasing year after year. Many Floridians rely on independent contracting for their livelihood, especially those with weighty family obligations or significant health problems that keep them from pursuing traditional employment.

While independent contracting does offer flexibility and plenty of other benefits for the individual and the state as a whole, it lacks the security of affordable health care benefits that typically accompany traditional employment.

Independent contractors should not have to endure this hardship, especially when a simple solution is found in the form of portable health care benefits. Florida’s lawmakers could set up a legal pathway for insurance companies to create a voluntary plan, one that would offer the kind of benefits currently restricted to independent contractors.

These plans would be opened by self-employed individuals directly, and could include health insurance, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. With the insurance company operating as a third-party administrator of these funds, contributions could be made from companies, organizations, clients or the employees themselves.

For independent contractors, health insurance is often very expensive as they don’t have collective bargaining power or an employer to pay part of their premium. Portable benefits would help solve this problem, lowering costs for independent contractors and ensuring needed health insurance is within their reach.

Because the plans would be opened directly by the employee, they would not be tied to any single business or employer – meaning the benefits could travel with the employee as they move from job to job or contract to contract. Under such an approach, any employee would be able to safely transition between jobs without the fear of losing the medical insurance so many desperately rely on.

Portable benefits would support self-employed, temporary and even more traditional employees by allowing them to feel secure if they choose to pursue a different career path.

Portable benefits also have the potential to contribute to significant economic and labor growth. The fear of losing coverage has prevented countless individuals from entering careers they might have pursued under better circumstances including becoming an entrepreneur, stimulating the economy and driving innovation.

Technology advances every day, and as a society we need to adapt to changes and alter the way we structure our lives. Having a flexible workforce is crucial to making those advancements as well.

Portable benefits are the answer to an ongoing problem for the state’s workforce, especially the independent contractors who make up a growing portion of the Sunshine State’s economy. Through this option, our state leaders can put Florida at the forefront of innovation to create a more dynamic labor market.