Meg is a caregiver currently living in Los Angeles, pursuing her primary passion as a traveling dancer. She uses Care.com to power her dancing career, including affordable health insurance.
What is your work life like, how do you work with Care.com?
Meg: I started using Care.com back in 2008. I’ve moved a lot and Care.com has been my saving grace. Care.com helps me have security within an insecure situation – I know I can find employment wherever I go. It’s been so easy for me to connect with people in different geographies because I have reviews and a background check, and it makes families feel safer.
So your Care.com profile has helped you through your moves for dancing?
Meg: Yes, even if someone finds me through word of mouth, I text them my Care.com link that legitimizes me more – they can read my bio, other people’s reviews, and gain a sense of trust.
It sounds like Care.com has really allowed you to be mobile?
Meg: I’m a dancer who performs in different cities, which has limited me to part-time work. I can’t get a normal job because I might have to pick up and go to another city anytime. But I have been so free working for Care.com… moving to a different city and just clicking right in with the families there.
None of your work or dancing provides you with the benefits of traditional employment, how do you deal with that?
Meg: I didn’t have healthcare for 10 years, since I was on my parents plan in high school. Being exposed to children puts me at a greater risk to be sick. When a kid is sick, you can’t say I can’t come to work, so I’ve gone to some pretty nasty, sliding-scale city clinics. I’ve had to follow mobile health vans around and scrape by when I’m sick. I’ve even gone to ER for strep throat, which took me a year to pay off. It’s been really frustrating not having healthcare.
What allowed you to make healthcare a reality?
Meg: An email through Care.com allowed me to find Stride Health and see the options so clearly. I was taken aback by how easy it was to look at the different options, and I signed up for it that day. I was only planning to look around, but I saw all the different options and said I think I can probably afford some healthcare this year. Health insurance is really confusing – the marketplace is so filled with information, but Stride was just so simple to understand.
Do you feel better having healthcare?
Meg: Ohhhh (sigh), oh yeah! First of all, I feel like an adult [laughs]. I feel safer having it, knowing I’m not going to have to take a day off work, go to some sketchy part of the neighborhood, and wait all day. I feel good knowing that I’m being protected and my health is now a priority.
Do you imagine staying covered from here on out?
Meg: Oh yeah, I’m on an auto-pay and it’s super easy with Stride. I don’t foresee getting a job with a big company, so I’ll be buying my own insurance for awhile.
We wish Meg the best of luck with her nomadic dancing career. See other stories of caregiver’s lifestyle and how they made health insurance a priority and reality.
