Health insurance made available to contractors, entrepreneurs and job seekers: oDesk

Contract workers now make up more than one-third of the U.S. workforce, and their ranks are growing at twice the rate of those that are traditionally employed. While contract work gives people the freedom to work when and where they want, it rarely comes with important employer benefits like health insurance. Starting today, oDesk, which connects employers with contractors globally, is making health insurance available to contractors, entrepreneurs, job seekers and anybody looking for an alternative to expiring COBRA benefits or costly individual plans.

More than 90% of U.S. companies now use contract talent on a regular basis, a trend that is changing the way the world works. oDesk is the largest marketplace for online work and connects employers with hundreds of thousands of contractors with a wide variety of skills. The company is committed to supporting both companies and individuals in this new, emerging "contract economy," and access to affordable, quality health insurance is an important ingredient.

The company has negotiated pricing, plan offerings and an approval process that outstrip other plans generally available to individuals. Additional details can be found at www.odesk.com/benefits:

• Wellness Plan – With an oDesk User ID, coverage issuance is guaranteed. There is an annual benefit limit of $20K
• Catastrophic Plan - Covers all costs after the first $10K and is designed to cover major medical care, including hospitalization
• Comprehensive Plan  – Combines the Wellness Plan and $1M of catastrophic coverage for a more complete coverage option

"The contract economy is 'the new normal' and models like oDesk are emerging to put much-needed structure, security, accountability and transparency in place for both employers and remote contractors," said oDesk CEO, Gary Swart. "By providing access to health coverage options, we're lowering a key barrier faced by many people that aspire to the freelance lifestyle, and enabling them to focus on building successful careers."