Service Industry Workers in Boston

Boston was hopping in early spring, and its service industry workers—in cafes, cabs, and spas—were busy. Employer-sponsored health insurance is often lacking in the service industry, and here are a few examples of workers’ coverage stories:

• Barista attended college full time and worked part time between classes for a global coffee chain. She was covered by a parent’s employer-sponsored health plan as a student who was younger than 26. She was looking forward to the day when she had graduated from college and had a full-time job that provided health insurance.
• Cabbie drove for one of the local taxi companies, which does not provide health insurance to drivers (who are not considered “employees”). He and his spouse enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan when they turned 65, which provided coverage for almost $0 in monthly premium. In the past, they had been covered by her employer-sponsored health plan.
• Esthetician worked part time for a spa, which provided health insurance to only full-time employees. She obtained her coverage—and qualified for a subsidy—through the Massachusetts Health Connector, the Commonwealth’s ACA marketplace. Her children qualified for Medicaid and the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.

In a state where more than half of all residents were enrolled in employer-sponsored insurance, service industry workers knew the importance of coverage for themselves and their family members through the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare. In other words, these consumers were Mastering Health Insurance.

Source: KFF (2022 data)

Photo: Boston Garden’s most famous family