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Welcome to Out Of Your Rut?s 20 Part-time Jobs with Health Insurance, updated for 2018. I decided this topic is so important, that I?ll update it each year.

Let me state for the record that a part-time job with health insurance are not a perfect solution. However, if you?ve been researching America?s health insurance situation in the last few years, you know there are no perfect solutions. Were mostly trying to make the best of a bad situation.

But part-time jobs with health insurance can be a workable solution to health insurance for someone who is self-employed, does contract or gig work, or works in a job that doesn?t offer health insurance.

And if I can add a personal endorsement, my family benefited from health insurance provided by my wife?s part-time job, from early 2015 through late 2017 (she?s now on full-time status with coverage in a different job entirely). So for me and my family, a part-time job with health insurance isn?t just a theory, but a reality.

All information has been verified on relevant employer websites and is deemed accurate as of May, 2018.

There Are More Part-time Jobs With Health Insurance Than We Generally Assume

Technically speaking, there are part-time jobs with health insurance everywhere. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), ?full-time? is defined as 30 hours per week or more, or 130 hours per month.

That means that if an employer has at least 50 employees and offers health insurance coverage, you are legally entitled to participate in the plan if you work at least 30 hours per week. 30 or more hours per week may be a heavy part-time schedule, but it?s less than the traditional 40-hour workweek.

In addition, this list is not meant to be comprehensive. Rather, it?s meant to provide examples of what?s available out there. Each employer may be a starting point in your search. If one employer in an industry is offering part-time jobs with health insurance, it?s likely that at least some of their competitors are doing the same. If you see a company on this list, you may find that coverage is available with other competitors in their industry.

As well, Healthcare.gov has a webpage set up for part-time employees with no coverage. I didn?t do a deep dive on the site, but I suspect the usual health insurance exchange offerings, made less expensive by the lower income and tax credits that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers. But feel free to do your own research there, and report back if you think it?s worth it.

20 Part-Time Jobs With Health Insurance 2018

The 2018 list has only two changes from 2017. Gone are Caribou Coffee and Fifth Third Bank. It?s not because those companies have categorically ended part-time jobs with health insurance, but because it?s no longer clear on their webpages. On this list, I?ve included only companies that clearly state the availability of part-time jobs with health insurance on their sites.

Taking the place of Caribou Coffee and Fifth Third Bank are Citi and Lowes. These employers may have provide the coverage in the past, but it had not been apparent on their websites.

Other information has been updated where necessary, including new web links where available.

So let?s get to 20 Part-time Jobs with Health Insurance, 2018:

1. JP Morgan Chase

JP Morgan Chase offers health insurance to employees who work at least 20 hours per week. The program provides medical, dental and vision coverage. There is a waiting period of 90 days for part-timers to be eligible for benefits, but you can include family members on your plan. Coverage is provided by CIGNA and United healthcare, and also includes dental and vision coverage.

2. Starbucks

Starbucks covers their employees under their Your Special Blend benefits package that includes health insurance and other benefits. You are eligible for coverage if you work (effectively) at least 20 hours per week, but you must work at least 240 hours within a three-consecutive month period to qualify. Dental and vision coverage are also available.

The company has recently disclosed that they pay 70% of the premiums for their employees, and cover 100% of preventative medicine.

3. Lowe?s

Lowe?s benefits package for part-time employees includes medical, as well?s prescription drug coverage. They also include dental and vision. Benefits take effect within 31 days of employment. They don?t specify the minimum number of hours to qualify, but the screenshot below shows the three plans offered:

4. Southwest Airlines

There?s no indication of how many hours are required to be considered an eligible part-timer, but Southwest indicates that it does offer health insurance benefits for part-time employees. And if the health insurance coverage isn?t enough, they have one of the most generous employee-flies-free policies in the industry.

5. UPS

UPS offers health insurance and a host of other benefits to its part-time employees, and it has for years. A friend of mine who works for UPS says that you must pay out of pocket for the premiums on your family members. I?ve never known him to be wrong.

For 2018, the company is more specific about its time requirements. For union jobs, you need to work at least 400 hours in three months, and you will be eligible for full time benefits. 225 to 400 hours in three months makes you eligible for part-time benefits, including medical. Several reader comments below indicate there?s a minimum of a one-year waiting period to be eligible for benefits.

6. Costco

Costco offers health insurance for its part-timers. You must average at least 23 hours per week to maintain coverage. That coverage begins the first day of the second month after you?ve completed 450 eligible hours, which sounds like something close to six months.

You may include your spouse and children in the coverage, but they also allow you to include parents and grandparents as well.

7. The Fresh Market

The Fresh Market offers medical coverage and other benefits to employees who work a minimum of 30 hours per week. They offer “low cost medical, prescription, life, dental and vision coverage” for their part-time employees, and their eligible dependents. The 30 hour requirement is certainly heavy part-time, but it is part-time. The coverage is available after 60 days of continuous employment.

8. Safeway

Safeway does offer part-time jobs with health insurance, but it may not be across the board. Whether or not it’s available will depend on the store and its location. It may be common practice in some areas of the country, but non-existent in others.

9. BB&T Bank

North Carolina based BB&T offers health insurance to its part-time staff who are regularly scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week. Coverage is with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. It is available in other states through the ?Blue Card? program.

10. Hospitals

Many hospitals provide health insurance benefits to their part-time staff. Many of those jobs are in non-medical capacities, including cafeteria staff, administrative personnel, maintenance workers and security guards. Examples include Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT, Florida Hospital in Orlando, FL, and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CA).

That’s just three of the hundreds of hospitals across the country that offer health insurance to part-time workers, so check with hospitals in your area. I?d also add large local medical practices to the list as well.

11. County Governments

Many county governments do offer coverage, so this is a real option. For example, just doing a brief search I found that San Mateo County (CA) (minimum 20 hours per week), Hillsborough County (FL) (was 20 hours per week in 2017, but is now 30 hours 2018), and Calvert County (MD) (??scheduled to work 50 percent or more of the normal pay period?) all offer medical coverage for part-timers. Check with the county where you live, or those that are close by.

12. Aetna

Aetna’s benefit page reads “Aetna 2018 Benefits Overview for Regular U.S. Employees (working 20 hours or more per week)”, which shouldn’t be a surprise since they are an insurance company. In fact, the health insurance plans that they provide are through Aetna, and include an HSA or health reimbursement account (HRA). And no surprise again, they also provide vision and dental coverage, as well as other employee benefits for part-time staff.

13. REI

REI offers medical plans to part-time employees averaging 20 hours or more per week, under their REI Flex Plan, where you can choose from several medical plans for yourself and your dependents. They pay for most of employees? medical plan cost, which is unusual for part-time jobs with health insurance.

14. Whole Foods

Whole Foods part-time employees are eligible for benefits if they work at least 20 hours per week and have successfully completed a probationary period of employment. Check out the location you are applying at to make sure that the benefit is actually available.

15. Aerotek

Aerotek is an international temporary agency that offers medical benefits to its contract workers who work at least 20 hours per week. Medical benefits include dental and vision coverage, extending to spouses and dependent children. Benefit coverage begins on the first of the month following or coinciding with your date of hire

16. Colleges and Universities

The University of Georgia offers not only health insurance but also dental, vision and other benefits, including retirement plan options. In order to qualify you must work ?75% time?, which we can presume to be 30 hours per week or more on a regular basis.

The University of Illinois also offers health insurance for part-time employees who work 50-99% of a normal work period are defined as part-time insurance employees.

The point is, colleges and universities do offer part-time jobs with health insurance, so check with one in your area.

17. Citi Bank

Citi may have been offering part-time jobs with health insurance all along, but it?s only become clear on the website recently. You need to work a minimum of 20 hours per week, and your benefit eligible after 90 days. (The benefits guide is 366 pages, but skip to Page 13.) As one of the largest banks in the country, they have branches all over the place.

18. SunTrust Bank

SunTrust is a major bank located throughout the Southeastern US, and it offers health insurance to part-time employees. They have several plans, each including prescription drug coverage, including an HSA in combination with the basic health insurance plan. Unfortunately, they don?t indicate how many hours required to qualify as part-time for benefit purposes.

19. Credit Unions

Like their close relatives, the banks, part-time jobs with health insurance seem to be pretty common among credit unions too. One example is DCU Credit Union, based in Massachusetts. They offer medical, dental and vision to full and part-time employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week, and also covers family members. Best of all, the coverage begins from the date of hire.

My wife?s part-time job with health insurance was from a competing credit union, so if you?re looking for part-time jobs with health insurance, consider credit unions.

20. Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines provides health insurance coverage to part-time employees and their eligible dependents. In fact, they offer three different plans, depending on where you live. They offer a full range of benefits to part-time employees even apart from health insurance, making it a desirable place to establish a solid part-time career, if that’s your choice.

Caveats to be Aware of When it Comes to Part-Time Jobs with Health Insurance

As I wrote at the outset, everything connected with health insurance has become imperfect, and that includes part-time jobs with health insurance. If you?re applying for these jobs, please be aware of the following:

An employer that offers part-time jobs with health insurance now may not have it a year from now.

The employer subsidy on health insurance plans for part-timers is usually not as generous as it is for full timers. It?s even possible that there may be no subsidy at all.

Plans may cover the employee only, and not the employee?s family.

Watch out for employers that offer limited benefit plans. These are not true health insurance, as they will only pay a flat fee for certain health conditions. As well they will not exempt you from the Obamacare penalty for not having health insurance.

Be sure that you?re very familiar with the details of the insurance coverage for any part-time job you accept, if getting health insurance is the primary reason for taking the job.

The whole idea of part-time jobs with health insurance worked brilliantly for my family for nearly three years. The reality is that there are all kinds of different situations with different people, but I think this offers a real solution to the healthcare dilemma in a lot of cases.

At a minimum, part-time jobs with health insurance can provide cost-effective health insurance from a non-traditional source. But longer term, it could be the perfect way for a self-employed person, or someone doing gig work, to get coverage without having to resort to the super-expensive policies on the healthcare exchanges.

Have you had any experience with part-time jobs with health insurance? Please share your experience if you have. Also, feel free to suggest other employers who offer coverage for part-timers.

( Photo by Piutus )