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Thanks for mentioning family - I hadn't considered the issue that it's not just the developer, but spouse and dependents that could have preexisting conditions

Thanks for mentioning family - I hadn't considered the issue that it's not just the developer, but spouse and dependents that could have preexisting conditions that make them uninsurable. So the number of qualified persons who could not take this job because of the insurance situation is even larger than it might seem at first. I suppose for employers this seems like a great way of saving money. I don't really see not offering basic benefits that are standard in the field as progressive though, but perhaps you were saying so as a sort of joke in which case I agree it's a funny thing to be doing.

mey 15y ago
To understand why I was calling it progressive, I need to give some context to how I see health insurance in the US as broken. The current health care insurance market is a lot of information asymmetry. I personally can not comparison shop for insurance. My employer is generally paying a portion or all of the insurance, so there is heavy incentive to take the insurance to get your best compensation. If I don't take it, my employer will not give me the difference that they are contributing. Using my employer to pay for insurance, it can be done pre-tax (generally, recent legislation may change that). The lack of choice and information asymmetry is what bothers me, and I applaud and expect this companies model to start becoming more common (hence progressive), but in the short term it would make sense to let the employee decide between a company plan and taking the money. Lastly, since this is a publishing shop, they may be used to dealing with more freelance employees/contractors which does typically include such a benefit.