A New Program for Affordable Health Benefits

Health Benefits Solutions for NJBIA Members

On Dec 27, 2017

The cost of health insurance was already a problem for small businesses at the beginning of the decade. Then came Obamacare, which re-wrote the rules for providing employee benefits, followed by the failed attempt earlier this year to repeal and replace it. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

In the midst of this chaos, NJBIA launched a new program providing member companies with access to health benefits for their employees through the not-for-profit Association Master Trust (AMT).

“We’ve actually been working on this for several years,” say NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka. “It’s just a coincidence that we were able to bring it online at a time when there is so much uncertainty in the healthcare system. But we are proud to offer this benefit to members.”

AMT can offer small businesses the advantages of a large, self-funded health plan: claim and cost stability, administrative efficiency, a full menu of comprehensive benefits, and when appropriate, a dividend to participating members.

According to AMT’s Harvey Mishkin, about 1,550 businesses participate in AMT.

“We can work with any size company,” Mishkin says. “That runs all the way down to those with a couple of employees, and we compete very, very well with the standard small employer products that are available in the conventional insured market.”

A business must be a member of NJBIA to take advantage of this plan. If qualified, however, the business will have access to:

A full selection of competitively priced, self-funded health benefit plans including Direct Access , EPO, HSA and AMT OMNIA designs;

• Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ and the national Blue Cross Blue Shield provider network;
• Dental plans administered by Delta Dental;
• Group Life/Accidental Death & Dismemberment program underwritten by the UniCare Life & Health Insurance Company; and
• Prescription drug plans managed by Prime Therapeutics.

Joining is easy. Members can get a free quote online at www.amt-nj.com or call Joy Castagno at AMT at 973-379-1090, ext. 229 or James Kelly at ext. 243. Once on AMT’s quoting system, make sure you select New Jersey Business & Industry Association. Then just complete the form and the system will generate a quote as accurate as possible.

Quotes provided before working with a member of AMT’s marketing team are offered as a guide, as such prices cannot be guaranteed. Please allow approximately 2 business days for your request to be processed.

“NJBIA has selected AMT for the health benefits we offer to our own employees,” Siekerka says. “If it’s good enough for our workers, then we owe it to our members to provide them access to it.”

AMT is a MEWA, or Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement; it operates in accordance with the NJ MEWA law and is registered with the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance. The company has been around since 1979, and is the successor to the New Jersey Fuel Merchants Association Insurance Trust, originally established in 1945.

NJBIA also offers member discounts on shipping, energy, credit-card processing, mandatory Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI), office supplies and more. Visit www.njbia.org to learn more.

 

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