Ebay’s Health Insurance Plan

A little while ago there was a big of news made about Ebay offering a health care option to its PowerSellers because many of their sellers, who relied on Ebay as their single source of income, had no other health coverage. The health insurance (called it Healthcare Solutions) is provided by Marsh Advantage America and the level of insurance coverage depended on which of the five PowerSeller tiers you’re in. I think the most stunning revelation I had was that you only need to have PowerSeller status at the time you sign up for the insurance, it’s not a pre-requisite for holding the insurance – you only need to keep current on premiums.

The Ebay Healthcare FAQ has a wealth of information but the most interesting piece of information is the fact that you only need to be a PowerSeller at the time you sign up for insurance. “If an individual loses their PowerSeller eligibility for any reason, their existing coverage will remain effective as long as their premiums are paid when due.” (Question #2) The only thing you lose is the ability to change plans or make changes to your plan.

To become a powerseller (full requirements) you basically need to sell more than $1000 for three consecutive months and have a feedback greater than 100 (98% of which is positive), it’s something you can achieve if you sell on a regular basis. The gross sales criteria is what affects which tier you’re in. $1000 qualifies you for Bronze, $3,000 for Silver, $10,000 for Gold, $25,000 for Platinum, and $150,000 for Titanium.

That’s about all the publicly available information I could find about it since specific plan coverages and premiums are dependent on your zip code.