NJBIA Unveils Program for Affordable Health Benefits

Members of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) now have another option when it comes to providing health benefits to their employees—the not-for-profit Association Master Trust (AMT).

NJBIA announced today that it has partnered with the longtime benefits provider and that NJBIA members could now apply to AMT for their group plans.

“The cost of healthcare was already a problem for small businesses, 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,”  said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka.

“What happens next is anyone’s guess,” Siekerka said. “So in the midst of this chaos, we are proud to be able to offer our members another option.”

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. Over the past five years, AMT has returned about $14.5 million in surplus to its members.

According to AMT’s Harvey Mishkin, about 1,700 businesses participate in their plans.

“We can work with any size company,” Mishkin said. “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, 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;

• Self-funded AMT 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.

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 Marta DiGesu at ext. 246. 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 three business days for your request to be processed.

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.