April 20, 2006
Contact: Sherry Freeman or Nan Nelson (920) 437-8704
The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative, a health insurance buying cooperative formed under Wisconsin’s Coop Care law announced today that it is now seeking members for a second insurance pool.
Making the announcement, Coop president Phil Hauck said, "We are very excited to be able to open the cooperative to a new pool of members. They’ll be able to take advantage of our programs to improve the health of their employees while at the same time receiving better long-term rate stability of insurance premiums. Our members take personal responsibility to improve their health and lifestyles. This will reduce the likelihood of expensive claims, thus reducing the rate of increase in health insurance cost—our primary objective."
The Cooperative’s first insurance pool, formed last year, currently has 135 member companies with nearly 3000 insured lives. It was formed in response to rising health insurance costs which mean that more and more small companies can't afford to cover their employees. Small group protection laws and the need for substantial reserves prevented pooling until the Wisconsin legislature enacted the Coop Care law permitting the formation of cooperatives that pool together to contract with insurance carriers.
Interested Brown County employers can learn more about joining the cooperative by attending an informational meeting. Reserve a place by calling the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce at (920) 437-8704.
"Small employers," said Hauck, "need the ability to join together to create a much larger group that has buying leverage and the ability to provide benefit management and wellness services that only large employers can typically afford."
"The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative allows its members to obtain a large group premium structure, take advantage of administrative efficiencies, and benefit from an array of non-insurance programs, such as wellness programs, that are key to cost containment," Hauck said.
According to Hauck, the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative will offer Pool #2 members:
* Large group advantages enabled by Coop Care legislation: rate stability, moderation of future cost increases, and benefit management programs;
* Improved health status of employees through use of mandatory health risk assessments, education on lifestyles and behaviors, incentives and reward programs, and information on both quality of care and comparable costs for different procedures and providers;
* Consumer-driven incentives such as health savings accounts or health reimbursement accounts affording both employee and employer federal pre-tax deductibility.
The cooperative is controlled by a member-elected board of directors: Phil Hauck, president, Tim Day, vice president, Nan Nelson, John Bloor, Paul Jadin, Jeff Ottum, Graham Ness, Chuck Martin, and Dan Madigan.
For more information, contact Sherry Freeman at (920) 437-8704, sfreeman@healthylifestylescoop.org.
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