Sorry this is a bit of a long post but could really use some advice.

So I’ve been a barista for about 2.5 years, my main reason for getting this job is the insurance working part time hours because I have a full time job. When I started my full time job there was no option for benefits, which is why I also got the Starbucks position. They have since made insurance an option, but it’s not cheap and doesn’t seem to cover as much, so I have always declined it. Up until this year I have always met the benefits hours audit without any issue, but that is partly due to them having decreased the hours bc of covid. Since my Starbucks job is not my main source of income, I have often let baristas who were looking for more hours take a shift of mine, especially bc there were things going on at my full time job that were allowing me to get more hours there. Anyways, bc of that I’m now looking at where I stand and realizing I’m likely not going to meet the requirement. I could try picking up shifts, but those aren’t always available and it’s also a lot with already working at least 40 hrs a week at my full time job. I’ve been playing around with what my options are based on what I know, I will definitely be talking to my bosses at both jobs to see what I can do, but I’m just looking for input on anything I might be missing/not thinking of.

Option 1- go full force trying to pick up extra hours for the next several weeks and possibly cut back a little at my other job & just be better about managing my hours in the future.

Option 2- keep things how they are for now, lose the insurance, and then get it back in July? (This is the one I’m most unsure about, does it just give you the option back after the next audit?)

Option 3- not stress about the hours and look into the healthcare marketplace options (I did look into this last year at open enrollment, but it was looking like for me I would be paying a lot more for insurance like $250-300 a month)


I’ll add I rarely use my health insurance, but am getting older (late 30’s) and am worried I’m seeing more issues start to pop up. I also have a dental thing I’ve been putting off so losing insurance entirely is probably not smart, but I also have shit mental health and don’t really care if my physical health suffers.