Department News MBA VEBA
MBA VEBA Converts Medical Plans to ELAP By Steve Wright, Senior Vice President, MBA VEBA Insurance Services
Tis program was initially offered as voluntary during renewal season in fall 2020. MBA VEBA had a great response to this offering, with approximately 40% of members adopting this platform. Since then, it’s become apparent that the need to fully convert all medical plan participants to ensure our health care plan is in place for decades to come.
No one at MBA VEBA wants to announce an involuntary program. However, our health plan has experienced unprecedented claim costs for the last several years. Te plan absorbed a 28% increase in facility costs that threatens at-risk capital and the longevity of our health care plan. Tese costs are out of control and unsustainable. Action had to be taken. On the advice of our consulting actuaries, MBA VEBA began analyzing alternative claim payment models, and ELAP rose to the top. Tis is a reference-based payment platform that pays facility claims based on their actual costs compared to a traditional model that pays a percentage of an inflated number. Most important is that ELAP is serious about customer service.
Te savings realized using this service are being seen from the early adopters and is crucial to our reserves. Te savings are truly impressive — far outpacing our traditional networks. By converting the remaining banks to this model, we are better
equipped to handle the volume of large claims we regularly encounter. Tis conversion also greatly reduces our risk profile, enhancing our leverage during fee negotiation with risk- based vendors. Te VEBA Trust will be stronger and reserves restored, ensuring the strength of our health plan for years to come.
It was very important to us that we maintain employee benefits. And, we are able to do that. Te structure and utility of our plans remain exactly the same with one exception. We have changed the practitioner network to “MultiPlan practitioner and ancillary.” By changing the network attached to the ELAP chassis, we are afforded payment mechanisms that eliminate out-of-network penalties to members. In other words, your employees can see providers outside of the MultiPlan network without fear of incurring out-of-network costs. We were unable to do that with the initial offering.
Te staff at MBA VEBA is fully trained on the ELAP model and ready to assist when needed. Every member participating in the VEBA health care plan will receive new medical cards. Educational videos and brochures, along with a podcast discussing our engagement with ELAP, is available at
mobankers.com. We are fully prepared to assist our members with this transition.
Send achievements, news and announcements to Lori Bruce, MBA communications
director, at
lbruce@mobankers.com for posssible inclusion in the next issue of The Missouri Banker.
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mobankers.com
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