Products October 4, 2005

A New Health Plan Option for Those Otherwise Ineligible

October 4, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Employees not eligible for traditional employer-sponsored health plans, as well as independent contractors, now have a health plan option available to them.
Reported by

HR Policy Association has announced in a news release that several large employers have joined together to provide National Health Access (NHA), a program offering affordable health care coverage to temporary, seasonal, and part-time workers, and independent contractors.

In the first wave, companies such as Avon Products Inc., IBM, Sears, General Electric, EMC, and Federal-Mogul are making the six NHA offerings available to employees and independent contractors.   The six offerings include discount programs and a variety of health insurance options, including major medical, HR Policy Association reports.   The plans will be administered by Hewitt Associates.

UnitedHealth Group, Humana, and CIGNA Healthcare are the insurance providers for the program.   By pooling eligible employees from large businesses, employers can obtain rates and terms that workers would not be able to obtain individually, HR Policy Associated noted.

Eligible employees have already begun receiving program details and enrollment information from their employers and the insurance companies in the mail.       

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