What is the ACEC Life/Health Trust?

ACEC Life & Health Trust – A way to save big on your health insurance dollars

What do Fortune 500 Companies have in common? They’re big. And what do big companies have access to? Affordable and quality health coverage. It’s as simple as that.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the oldest & largest of America’s engineering Associations and member firms have access to the ACEC Life & Health Trust. The Trust has single large employer group status as a bona fide association.

Flexible Healthcare Solutions by Engineers, for Engineers.

The Trust offers a few different health insurance options for affordable group medical coverage:

Fully Insured PPO: The first is a fully insured PPO plan available nationwide through United Health Care. There are a wide range of deductibles and copays so you can choose which plan best fits your needs.

This plan is exceptionally competitive for companies that have employees in more than one state as the United Healthcare PPO network is strong nationwide. The United Health Care plans is best for groups 2-100 employees.

Select Plan: The second medical plan option is called the Select plan. This plan is an alternate funding model called level funding. The plan looks and feels like a fully insured plan but you have the ability to get a cash check at the end of the year if your firm performs better than expected.

At the same time you are not exposed to any more risk compared to a fully insured plan. The Select plan uses the Aetna POS II provider network which is one of the largest national PPO networks and also competitive for firms with employees in multiple states.

The plan offers transparency to claims with in the plan so you know exactly how it’s performing month by month. Included with the Select plan is a subscription to Healthiest You which means free tele-medicine for all your employees 24/7, 365 days a year. This includes getting prescriptions over the phone. The select plan is best for groups with 20-100 employees.

Advantage Plan: The third and final medical plan option through the trust is called the Advantage plan. The Advantage plan is essentially just stop-loss coverage to be used in your existing self-funded solution or to go self-funded for the first time. The great thing about the advantage plan is there is very little disruption to employees. It can be used with your medical network and TPA (third party administrator) of choice.

Rate increases are limited to a certain threshold year over year and there are no lasers after the first year. Self-insured firms know this is extremely valuable. The advantage plan is available to employer groups with 100+ employees.

Besides low rates and quality coverage just what are you getting with this large employer group plan?

Well, to start, it’s available for all employer sizes – all the way down to 2 employees. In states like California, where small groups (1-100 employees) have to succumb to age-banded rates, it is a game changer.  You have access to tiered rates where there is one set “employee rate”. Here’s some potential scenarios that show how it works for engineering firms.

For a small to medium sized engineering firm, having access to these large group plans can be the difference between attracting and retaining that top-quality talent. All too often they can be lost to larger companies with more comprehensive benefit packages.

In addition to medical plans, the Trust offers a suite of dental, vision, life and disability products that can be added on a-la-carte. These ancillary benefits can be obtained through United Health Care or their preferred partnership with Guardian Life.

Regardless of the medical plan that you choose, each member firm has access to a number of different wellness programs at no cost.

• The first is called Designed Wellness. This plan provides participants with information about their current health status and assists them in setting realistic wellness goals.
• The second is called Designed Advocate and is administered by compass. Compass helps employees find the best local doctors by comparing pricing and quality scores. They also provide expert guidance with regards to understanding your insurance benefits and making sure you’re not overcharged, etc.
• The third wellness program is called Designed Telehealth administered by Healthiestyou. They over free telemedicine 24/7, 365 days a year. This can be extremely helpful for employees being able to get new prescriptions immediately, over the phone.

The Trust was enacted in 1965 and United Healthcare took over administration in 2007.

Over 1,400 engineering firms and 83,000 members currently take advantage of the offering. Each year the trust renews 93% of its members.

Get a Quote

If your firm hasn’t looked into the trust before or it’s been more than a year or two since you last check it out – I’d highly recommend it. Get a quote by clicking the button below and filling out a short form, or give us a call at 877-840-4985.