Intuit, Stride Health Partnership Simplifies Health Insurance Coverage, Tax Planning for Freelance Workers

Business Wire

QuickBooks Self-Employed Integration Delivers Year-round Savings, Stability and Predictability

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) is partnering with Stride Health to provide self-employed workers with increased savings, stability and predictability in their day-to-day lives. The partnership integrates Stride Health’s personalized approach to managing health insurance, healthcare and compliance within QuickBooks Self-Employed, which helps freelancers manage business and personal finances, and helps get them ready for taxes throughout the year.

Self-employed workers have grown to 36 percent of the U.S. labor force, and are expected to reach 43 percent by 2020, increasing from a current base of 3.2 million to 7.6 million. New research from Intuit shows that 28 percent of these freelance workers do not have a health plan – more than double the 12 percent of Americans who don’t have insurance. This partnership combines the two leading financial and health decision experiences to support professional, creative, and on-demand workers nationwide.

“Self-employment gives people the freedom and flexibility of being their own boss, but it comes with challenging compliance requirements and a constant struggle for financial stability. We’re working to ease that burden and bring stability to the self-employed,” said Alex Chriss, vice president of Intuit’s Small Business Group. “Providing our customers with Stride’s tailor-made healthcare recommendations to maximize tax credits, access tax savings, and assist in complying with the Affordable Care Act is the next step in expanding QuickBooks Self-Employed. Freelancers now have one place to go to most effectively manage their business.”

Intuit and Stride are collaborating to deliver a first-of-its-kind experience that seamlessly links individuals to the right level of benefits needed to protect personal health and income. Starting Nov. 1, Stride gives QuickBooks Self-Employed customers access to:

Tailor-made health plan recommendations – Build a health and financial profile to access a personalized plan recommendation, optimizing total cost of coverage and care each year. Stride instantly compares 38 factors across thousands of plans to find the most cost-effective plan, keep preferred doctors and ensure affordable prescription drug coverage. The experience enables QuickBooks Self-Employed customers to organize their financial data so they can maximize tax credits, and access tax savings.
Personalized care savings and support – Receive personalized care plans that take maximum advantage of free preventive care included with their health insurance. QuickBooks Self-Employed users can also use Stride to locate in-network doctors and get exclusive access to deals on prescriptions at 70,000 pharmacies nationwide.
Personalized tax savings – Helps you take advantage of healthcare-related tax deductions and tax credits provided by the government to fund their coverage. The unified Stride-Intuit experience delivers a one-stop shop, helping self-employed workers track healthcare deductions, premiums and contributions to tax-advantaged health savings accounts. QuickBooks Self-Employed subscribers identify on average $3,809 in potential tax savings per year.
Year-round dedicated advisors – Focus on building a business, rather than spending time to become an expert on taxes and healthcare. Provides self-employed workers with year-round support to navigate their health plans and understand how to use their plans to save money on their taxes.

Enrollment Begins Nov. 1

“In the wake of the Affordable Care Act, we have a tremendous opportunity to empower individuals to maximize their financial savings on health coverage and care, leveling the playing field with traditional employment, but also a responsibility to ensure they’re protected and compliant,” said Noah Lang, CEO and cofounder of Stride Health. “This partnership represents two consumer-driven companies delivering a level of support that’s never been offered to self-employed Americans. We’re intelligently uniting the key financial and health information streams to ensure that self-employed Americans can protect their health – and their wallets – without breaking a sweat.”

Open enrollment for 2016 health insurance starts on Nov. 1, with a Dec. 15 deadline to receive coverage that starts on Jan. 1. To change coverage after Jan. 31, enrollees must experience a qualifying life event, such as getting married or divorced, having a child or moving to a new state. For those people, Stride will seamlessly guide QuickBooks Self-Employed users through the enrollment process all year round. Users can also switch from their current plan to save money with Stride during this Open Enrollment Period.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. creates business and financial management solutions that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals.

Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks® and TurboTax®, which make it easier to manage small businesses and tax preparation and filing. Mint.com provides a fresh, easy and intelligent way for people to manage their money, while ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit’s leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. The Insurance programs described herein will be provided by Stride Health, Inc. an authorized insurance broker (License # 17110854) and Intuit Insurance Services, Inc. (License #0H27264), a licensed insurance agency and an affiliate of Intuit Inc. in conjunction with Stride Health.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.2 billion in its fiscal year 2015. The company has approximately 7,700 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

About Stride Health

Stride Health, Inc. an authorized insurance broker (License # 17110854) delivers health coverage, care and compliance as a complete suite of “Benefits for Independents” to individuals. Stride’s platform provides on-demand economy marketplaces, consumer finance platforms, and large organizations with a seamlessly integrated solution to protect independent workers.

Now available in all 50 states and Washington DC, Stride’s coverage suite is bolstered by a dedicated advisory team and software that provides access to in-network medical practitioners, negotiated drug prices at 70,000 local pharmacies, and care delivery in your plan. Stride’s product is available on any device – mobile, tablet or desktop.

Based in San Francisco, Stride Health (www.stridehealth.com) launched in early 2014 and is venture-backed by the leading health and consumer technology firms Venrock, New Enterprise Associates, and Fidelity Biosciences.