--- title: "Freelancers Union Changes Healthcare Course" id: "25374" type: "post" slug: "freelancers-union-changes-healthcare-course" published_at: "2014-10-03T21:52:52+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:22:37+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/10/03/freelancers-union-changes-healthcare-course/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/10/03/freelancers-union-changes-healthcare-course.md" excerpt: "With restrictions under the Affordable Care Act cramping the association’s style, the group is moving away from offering its own health insurance plan. The reason? The benefits wouldn’t have made up for the extra costs." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "freelancers" - "Healthcare" - "Insurance" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Freelancers Union Changes Healthcare Course The innovative approach to healthcare that Freelancers Union offers its members is about to take a more traditionalist turn. The group, [which has drawn hundreds of thousands of freelance workers](http://associationsnow.com/2013/03/freelancers-union-how-it-topped-200000-members/) in part due to its Freelancers Insurance Company healthcare plans, is moving away from offering its own insurance. Instead, it [will start offering an array of plans through Empire BlueCross BlueShield (opens in a new tab)](https://www.freelancersunion.org/benefits/health/2015plans.html) . Why the change? The Affordable Care Act imposed new requirements for the level of coverage insurers offer, and it prevents plans from limiting who can receive care from a provider. This put the Freelancers Union in a tough spot, as its insurance company had been available only to freelancers. The group said the changes it would have had to make in the plan to comply with the ACA would have increased premiums by 14 percent in the coming year, undermining the point of having the program at all. Dropping Freelancers Insurance Company—though not its healthcare ambitions, as the organization will continue to run [its primary care facilities (opens in a new tab)](https://www.freelancersmedical.org/) —comes with some perks for those currently under the plan: It would lower premiums for seven of the nine plans it currently offers. The shift nonetheless raised concerns for members. “If they want to be good friends, they should tell everybody to do everything now,” public relations consultant Josh Baran [told The New York Times (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/nyregion/freelancers-union-to-end-its-health-insurance-plan-in-new-york.html?_r=0) . “If you need to go to a specialist, go right now. I just made three appointments.” > Now we’re taking the opportunity created by the ACA to go to scale. ### Expanding Nationally Despite such concerns, the organization sees the change as an opportunity to expand its healthcare strategy. This year, the group [added a national benefits platform (opens in a new tab)](https://www.freelancersunion.org/benefits/) , allowing members to search for information on health and dental care, retirement funds, and life insurance. Previously, its healthcare efforts had been focused on New York. Next up, the union will expand its network of primary-care facilities, which do not charge co-pays for members, around New York City and, soon, across the country. The organization is raising $30 million in funding for the effort. “We took time to understand what lay ahead,” Horowitz [told Crain’s New York Business (opens in a new tab)](http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140930/HEALTH_CARE/140939982/freelancers-union-reaches-deal-with-empire) . “Now we’re taking the opportunity created by the ACA to go to scale.” In other words, the Freelancers Union may have lost a battle by getting out of the insurance business, but it’s hoping to win the war to ensure that its members have easy access to healthcare. “The ‘gig’ economy has become a vibrant and growing employment option that embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic that’s always been an integral part of America’s DNA,” [Horowitz told Forbes (opens in a new tab)](http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2014/10/02/how-sara-horowitz-is-disrupting-healthcare-for-the-gig-economy/) . “Supporting that with high-quality healthcare has been a challenge, but the solution we’ve incubated successfully here in New York over the last 10 years is now ready for rolling out nationally.” Freelancers Union’s health strategy includes its own co-pay-free medical facilities. (Facebook photo) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#freelancers](https://associationsnow.com/tag/freelancers/) [#Healthcare](https://associationsnow.com/tag/healthcare/) [#Insurance](https://associationsnow.com/tag/insurance/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [Video2025 Summit Award Recipient: American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationOctober 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/10/03/2025-summit-award-recipient-american-speech-language-hearing-association/) - [Video2025 Summit Award Recipient: American Society of HematologyOctober 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/10/03/2025-summit-award-recipient-american-society-of-hematology/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F10%2F03%2Ffreelancers-union-changes-healthcare-course%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !