| About the IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust |
Q: What is the IGA healthcare plan?
A:
The IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust is a new employee healthcare benefit program designed exclusively for IGA members. It is a fully insured employee benefit plan designed to meet all the federal regulations including ERISA, HIPAA and COBRA. Some of the major plan features include:
• Comprehensive medical and prescription drug coverage
• Benefits are fully guaranteed by qualified “A” rated insurers
• Dental, vision, group life and short term disability are also available
• Easy access to selected local, regional, and national PPO networks
• Benefits up to $1 million per covered person per year
• Benefits all fully guaranteed from the first eligible dollar to the Plan limits
• Plan deductibles starting at $500 per person per year
• H.S.A. and HRA options available
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Q: Is this healthcare plan an insurance plan?
A:
The new IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust healthcare plan is not itself insurance. The plan however, purchases insurance direct from the world insurance market under one policy guaranteeing all of the eligible medical benefits from the first eligible dollar to the limits set forth in the Summary Plan Description. The benefits under the IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust program are guaranteed in full from the first eligible dollar to the limits of the plan by qualified “A” rated Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London.
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Q: Will the IGA healthcare plan save my store money?
A:
The employer has the flexibility to design their own plan and all other things being equal, the cost of providing benefits under the new Plan has been reduced by 10% to 15% and in some cases as much as 20% or more when compared with other available commercially insured group benefit programs.
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Q: I have looked at a variety of healthcare programs for my employees and nobody has been able to deliver 10-15% savings on our employee benefit costs. How do you do it?
A:
In order to deliver these cost reductions, we have, reduced acquisition costs, reduced insurance related costs and margins, reduced administration costs and other related expenses through volume purchasing without sacrificing financial security.
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Q: Do I need to be a IGA member in order to sign my company up for this program?
A:
Yes. In order to participate in the the IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust program, a store must maintain a current IGA membership.
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Q: Is group life insurance available under the IGA healthcare plan?
A:
Yes. $10,000 employee life insurance is standard, although higher and lower limits are available.
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Q: What are the maximum limits of the Plan?
A:
$1,000,000 per person annually and up to $2,000,000 per person lifetime.
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Q: What PPO´s are available?
A:
Before you change doctors, we’ll change networks for your employer group. IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust has access to several national and regional PPO networks. To see a complete list go to our PPO map and/or PPO list links on our home page. Look for the PPO map button.
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| About Administrator |
Q: How are employee and dependent benefit rates established?
A:
The Administrator employs the Tillinghast HealthMaps System with specific assumptions reviewed by actuaries to establish contribution rates. The employee and dependent group rates are established based on fixed overhead cost; the cost of medical services in the specific geographic area; the age, sex, family status, and general medical condition of the specific employer group.
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Q: Who is Medical Benefits Administrators of MD (MBA)?
A:
MBA is a third party benefit administration firm affiliated with R. J. Wilson & Associates Ltd. the reinsurance intermediary providing the insurance for the IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust. MBA provides the claims administration. MBA utilizes the state of the art Trizetto Quiclink System (formerly known as Resource Information Management or “RIMS”) in the management of benefit claims. MBA also employs Solucient Auto Audit and other similar systems as well as INGENIX (formerly Medicode) in the administration of claims.
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Q: Does MBA and affiliates provide benefit services for other organizations as well?
A:
Yes. MBA provides similar claims administration services for four other national associations and over 350 stand alone individual regional employers.
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Q: How long has MBA, RJW and affiliated companies existed?
A:
R. J. Wilson & Associates Ltd. a Maryland corporation was founded in 1978 and currently has several affiliate firms providing both benefit and specialty insurance services. MBA is a Maryland based affiliate of RJW founded in 1992. ABS was recently formed to provide special design and enrollment services for client associations. Another affiliate Dayspring Management LLC provides management, consulting and actuarial services for 5 additional national trade associations. An early affiliate Canton Agency is currently a managing underwriter providing property and casualty insurance for the railroad industry since 1969.
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Q: How many people are covered under healthcare plans served by MBA and affiliates?
A:
MBA will serve and administer the claims for over 90,000 people throughout the United States and other countries. Through affiliated entities MBA will serve over 250,000 people this year.
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Q: How many people are employed in MBA, RJW and affiliated companies?
A:
Currently the number of employees is just short of 100 but at the current rate of growth is expected to reach 150 by mid year 2006.
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Q: What role does MBA have in the IGA healthcare program?
A:
MBA acts as the first party plan administrator for the IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust program, providing customer service, medical claims management, adjudication and payment, PPO network arrangements, and compliance services. In addition, RJW negotiates reinsurance, develops medical plans, provides administration, underwriting and actuarial services.
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Q: Who is Advance Benefit Services LLC (ABS)?
A:
Advance Benefit Services is an affiliate of MBA and RJW assists the member employers in the implementation, design, presentation, and enrollment of employees and dependents under national association benefit programs. ABS will be working with the various individual IGA grocery stores across the United States that wish to participate in the IGA Group Employee Benefit Trust.
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