Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 281 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in December 2022 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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The database currently contains 281 entries and was last updated in December 2022.
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Stride Health is an online health insurance broker focusing on connecting individuals with health plans under the Affordable Care Act.
Stride Health, founded in 2013, is an online health insurance broker focusing on connecting individuals with health plans under the Affordable Care Act. It provides search service for consumers to find their optimal health plan by taking into account factors including demographic information, existing conditions, preferences, income and subsidies members can use to defray costs, to give people personalised options for their health coverage.
In 2016, Stride conducted an online survey to explore how the Affordable Care Act was impacting platform workers’ decisions on their health coverage. The key findings include that the majority of workers planned to get health coverage, whilst platform workers were uninsured at three times the rate of average Americans. They also found that platform workers were struggling with subsidy qualification and needed specific guidance on this issue, such as the help on claiming appropriate tax deductions to increase subsidy eligibility.
In 2018, Stride formed a new integration system with the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) called enhanced direct enrolment, which would allow users to choose benefits and apply for and receive subsidies directly in the company’s platform
In August 2019, Stride launched the Stride Benefits Platform, a fully customisable suite of health and wealth benefits and perks that platforms can offer to their independent workers. The platform includes access to health, dental, vision, life, accident and disability insurance, prescription discounts, online doctor visits, checking and savings accounts, free mileage and expense tracking, tax assistance and filing, discounts and deals on local and national products and services, and employer-exclusive offers.
In October 2020, Stride announced a partnership with Mastercard to help companies offer workers access to affordable healthcare plans. In 2021, Mastercard cardholders will be able to use their cards to pay for these benefits on Stride's platform. This marks the first time that differentiated health, dental and vision benefits would be made available via a payments network. This partnership is an extension of Mastercard’s commitment to financial inclusion, and the first step in the company’s broader strategy to platform workers with a wide range of benefits choices – from insurance, to financial management, education and offers. It aims to address the need for accessible benefits options and the flexibility to move benefits across jobs, especially for platform workers.
Further reading: * Mastercard, Stride enable portable health benefits to gig workers * Leading gig platforms put Stride's new benefits platform to work * 1 in 4 gig workers getting health insurance for less than $1 per month * Stride Health is making health coverage easier for the gig economy * Stride study: health coverage in the gig Economy
The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising.
Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work?
The rapid rise of the platform economy has led to a marked transformation of European labour markets, and existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives have yet to catch up. While platform work offers opportunities for workers and employers and potentially contributes to innovation, economic growth and competitiveness in the EU, it has been criticised from the beginning because of the poor employment and working conditions often experienced by workers.
While 2020 may come to be seen as the year platform work gathered pace and started to go mainstream – thanks in large part to COVID-19 containment measures sparking an increase in food and grocery delivery – 2021 could be the year that regulation of platform work is set in motion.
