The American Veterinary Medical Association announced earlier this year it would be ending its medical coverage for its 17,500 association members and their dependents on Dec. 31, 2013, bringing to light the issue of association coverage and how association plans could be affected by the Affordable Care Act.
“The guaranteed issue coverage mandate – in other words, you have to take somebody regardless of previous conditions – makes those kinds of plans too risky for an insurer,” says Jay Jensen of Insight Benefits Group. His firm has been working with the AVMA to find alternative health care coverage for its members. “It changes the dynamics of the plan for the insurance company.”
The plan’s underwriter, New York Life Insurance, notified AVMA it would no longer underwrite major medical coverage for professional associates after 2013 because of impending federal health care regulations.
