MEWA ANNOUCEMENT: SAVE 10-15%
The Louisiana State Medical Society is pleased to announce our vision to deliver a LSMS- sponsored health plan to our members is becoming a reality. The Louisiana Department of Insurance is currently reviewing our application to provide health insurance to our members through a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA.) Known as Advantage Physicians Healthcare Trust (APHT), we anticipate our plans will be approved this summer.
APHT will offer three health insurance plans to LSMS members that are closely modeled after existing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBS of LA) plans. BCBS of LA will serve as our claims administrator. Eligibility for the APHT health insurance plans includes:
1 APHT health insurance coverage is only open to active members of the LSMS, their families and full-time employees of their practices and their families. 2 APHT health insurance coverage is only open to residents of Louisiana. 3 At minimum of two subscribers in the practice must participate. As an example, a sole practitioner with a single full- time staff member participating is the smallest subgroup that we can accept. 4 To broaden the reach of the APHT health plans (and achieve lower costs), we have created a new category of membership in the LSMS – Affiliate Member. Any dentist licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, or any medical professional licensed by the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners, will be eligible for an Affiliate Membership in the LSMS, and may participate in APHT health plans and use our purchasing site. 5 Although the APHT health plans are modeled after three existing BCBS of LA plans, our goals is to reduce costs for a large majority of our members than the traditional BCBS of LA plans as applicants will be fully underwritten before coverage is initiated. Underwriting was common before the Affordable Care Act, but it will allow us to more accurately assess the risks associated with covering subscribers to our plans. 6 APHT health plan members will have complete access to the existing BCBS of LA network of providers and will carry a health insurance card co-branded with BCBS of LA and APHT logos. If you are currently a BCBS of LA member, your coverage will remain unchanged.
7 Unlike traditional health insurance plans, APHT plans can be purchased by LSMS members on an annual basis throughout the year – no more waiting for open enrollment. All plans started during the year will have a renewal date of January 1 the following year. 8 APHT is overseen by a group of five trustees drawn from the executive leadership of the LSMS its general membership. The primary objective of APHT and our board of trustees is to secure the lowest possible health care premiums with the broadest possible coverage for LSMS members. 9 You can obtain quotes and purchase APHT plans three ways. 1 Through your existing insurance broker relationships. 2 Contact the LSMS directly for an introduction to a DOI- licensed broker. 3 Visit the APHT website at www.aphtrust.com to complete you application electronically. The website will go live shortly after our application is approved by the DOI. 10 Finally, we have licensed and customized state-of-the-art health insurance back-end software to allow us to seamlessly automate the entire health insurance application, quoting, invoicing and payment processes. Through many months working diligently with insurance advisors, lawyers, actuaries, underwriters, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, and our financial partners we are able to bring this dream to life. We encourage all of our members to apply for health insurance coverage through APHT so that we can grow and maintain this benefit for our membership for many years into the future.
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J LA MED SOC | VOL 173 | WINTER 2021
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