I have run into two clients with the same thoughts but different situation.
Client 1 went through an association that her husband was a member of because of his engineering background. They experienced "high" rate increases and now the insurance company behind the association plan is in the process of dismantling the health coverage group by rate increasing everybody until the participation level drops down far enough for the company (cigna) to cancel plan. See the attached file for the plan info.
Here's the question......
Can anybody tell me the pros/cons of joining a local Chamber of Commerce to obtain health insurance or through another organization that offers health insurance to it's members. My experience thus far with any type of association based (consumer associations mind you) health insurance plan has been with AARP, IEEE, and a few other organizations touting "discounts on health insurance through their business organizations, Chambers, etc.
The way I see it now is that the specific plans that organizations have negotiated with insurance carriers have it's pros/cons, but I do not know all of them. Here is what I do know.....
1) Group size might not be large enough to sustain a group and claims can destroy a group, as is the case with client 1's past plan w/ Cigna.
2) Discounts are not allowed for anybody because that would be considering rebating and is illegal to conduct or market plans in such a way.
3) AARP health plans are not as competitive as to what is available on the market via the benefits and the prices of the plans.
Thoughts???
Client 1 went through an association that her husband was a member of because of his engineering background. They experienced "high" rate increases and now the insurance company behind the association plan is in the process of dismantling the health coverage group by rate increasing everybody until the participation level drops down far enough for the company (cigna) to cancel plan. See the attached file for the plan info.
Here's the question......
Can anybody tell me the pros/cons of joining a local Chamber of Commerce to obtain health insurance or through another organization that offers health insurance to it's members. My experience thus far with any type of association based (consumer associations mind you) health insurance plan has been with AARP, IEEE, and a few other organizations touting "discounts on health insurance through their business organizations, Chambers, etc.
The way I see it now is that the specific plans that organizations have negotiated with insurance carriers have it's pros/cons, but I do not know all of them. Here is what I do know.....
1) Group size might not be large enough to sustain a group and claims can destroy a group, as is the case with client 1's past plan w/ Cigna.
2) Discounts are not allowed for anybody because that would be considering rebating and is illegal to conduct or market plans in such a way.
3) AARP health plans are not as competitive as to what is available on the market via the benefits and the prices of the plans.
Thoughts???
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