How Does DoorDash Health Insurance Work?

Many dashers are confused about DoorDash health insurance and even wonder if the company provides this perk.

Unfortunately, DoorDash doesn’t provide health insurance to its gig workers. However, if you’re a dasher in California, you can benefit from the company’s healthcare stipend.

The delivery company started offering their dashers in California this stipend to comply with Prop 22, posted by California’s government in 2022.

In this post, I’ll introduce you to Prop 22 and how you can benefit from it. I’ll also guide you on how to pick the best DoorDash-supported insurance plan for your needs.

Understanding Prop 22 Healthcare Stipend

Becoming a DoorDash driver had the drawback of not having employer-supported health insurance.

This was before the Prop 22 healthcare stipend solved this problem in California. 

California’s government issues Proposition 22, which requires delivery apps in the state, including DoorDash, to pay a portion of their workers’ health insurance premiums.

In addition to DoorDash’s payment structure, the company’s workers should receive these stipends quarterly if they meet a few criteria.

The exact amount they should receive depends on the total active hours they’ve worked throughout the quarter.

The following are the requirements that make you qualified to receive the DoorDash healthcare stipend:

• You’re a dasher in California
• You work 15 hours per week or more throughout the quarter
• You’ve subscribed to a qualifying health plan that isn’t government-sponsored during the quarter.

It’s worth noting that DoorDash’s healthcare insurance differs from occupational insurance.

The company has provided the latter since 2019 for its independent contractors in all states. It covers emergency medical bills and accidents.

What to Do If You’re Qualified for the Stipend?

When you meet the two criteria above, you’ll receive an email from DoorDash inviting you to apply for the quarter healthcare stipend.

Then, you need to submit an application for this stipend before the deadline the company determines.

When you do so, the delivery company will deposit your healthcare stipend into your account by the end of the month of your application.

However, if you meet the two criteria but still don’t receive an invitation email, you can contact the support team.

Given that, you should be aware of each quarter’s deadlines to ensure you don’t miss them. The following are the deadlines:

• Quarter 1: April 15th
• Quarter 2: July 15th
• Quarter 3: October 15th
• Quarter 4: January 15th

Qualifying for DoorDash’s Health Insurance Options

As you know by now, you need to be enrolled in a qualifying healthcare plan to receive the stipend.

Qualifying plans should be purchased through Covered California or Stride Health.

Alternatively, it can be a health plan purchased outside the California Health insurance marketplace but still meet the ACA requirements for minimum essential coverage.

Conversely, plans that aren’t qualifying are those for whom you’re not the primary subscriber. In other words, they’re government-sponsored or employers-sponsored.

To help you choose, the following two lists outline the plans that qualify for DoorDash’s stipend and the others that don’t:

Qualifying Plans

Here are the qualified plans to pick from:

• Blue Shield of California
• Health Net
• Molina Healthcare
• Oscar Health
• Valley Health Plan
• Kaiser Permanente
• Chinese Community Health Plan
• Anthem Blue Cross
• L.A. Care Health Plan

Non-Qualifying Plans

Stay away from these plans if you’re applying for DoorDash healthcare stipend:

• Medicaid
• Medicare
• CenCal Health
• Inland Empire Health Plan
• Tricare
• Promise Health Plan

How Much Are the Stipend Amounts?

You certainly wonder: If you qualify for DoorDash’s stipend, how much should you expect to receive each quarter?

DoorDash provides two tiers of stipends for its dashers depending on their total active hours throughout the quarter.

In case you don’t know, active hours are the time you spend working on deliveries and not the time you’re online.

The following are the two stipend tiers:

• Dashers who complete 15–25 active hours per week receive $683
• Delivery drivers who work 25 or more hours a week receive $1,366

The Role of Stride Health in Dashers Health Insurance

DoorDash has recently partnered with the healthcare platform Stride. The platform helps dashers find their most suitable health insurance plans.

When using Stride, you’ll need to choose the type of plan you’re looking for, whether it’s a general health plan, dental, vision, or even life insurance.

Then, you’ll enter some information about yourself. Based on your information, the platform recommends the most suitable plans for you and the benefits of each.

Health insurance plans on Stride provide free preventive care and regular immunizations. They also offer partial coverage for many emergencies.

You also have the option to pick a plan only for yourself or to add your spouse or family to the policy.

Dental and Vision Plans

Dental insurance plans on Stride include free regular checkups and cleanings. They partially cover fillings, x-rays, extractions, and some orthodontic treatments.

Regarding vision coverage, you’ll receive $120 yearly allowances for glasses or contacts.

You’ll have discounted visits to over 300,000 ophthalmologists and vision health centers nationwide as well.

Check the Stride Health website to get more information about all available healthcare plans.

Requirements for Stride Health Insurance Plans

To enroll in one of Stride’s health insurance plans, you need to meet the following requirements:

• Be a US citizen or a legal resident.
• You don’t have access to other health coverage, whether government or employer-sponsored
• You’re going to file your federal taxes for the current year
• Live in California. DoorDash is currently offering health care stipends only in CA.

Comparing Stride Health Insurance with Private Health Insurance

You might wonder what distinguishes Stride health insurance plans from private health insurance plans.

First, you need to know that Stride Health isn’t an insurance company. Instead, it’s a broker that makes finding the best health insurance provider easier and much faster.

It does this by matching your needs with the most suitable options.

That said, here are the advantages and the disadvantages of picking a plan from Stride vs. choosing another private health insurance:

Pros

These are the positives of using Stride Health:

• All the plans on Stride are eligible for DoorDash Stipend in California
• Enables you to sign up for an insurance plan within only ten minutes
• Offers quality health insurance plans at the lowest prices
• Provides responsive support service
• Offers highly personalized plans

Cons

The following are the drawbacks you can expect when using Stride Health insurance:

• Most plans include high deductibles,
• Stipends are currently available only for dashers in California

Wrapping Up

Dashers in California can now benefit from DoorDash health insurance stipend if they work, on average, 15 hours per week.

If you work between 15-25 hours a week, you’ll receive $683 per quarter. If you work more than 25 hours, you’ll receive $1,366 per quarter.

That said, to obtain this stipend, you need to be enrolled in a qualified insurance plan. The easiest way to do so is to pick a plan using the Stride health insurance platform.

The platform will provide the most suitable qualified health insurance policy for your needs and budget.

When you meet the above requirements, you’ll receive an email from DoorDash inviting you to apply for your quarterly stipend.