AVMA announces platform for GHLIT private health exchange

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced today that its Group Health Life Insurance Trust (GHLIT) private health exchange will be built on the HealthPlan Services’ (HPS) benefit crossroads platform. The exchange will make good on the AVMA’s promise to assist members after GHLIT underwriter New York Life announced it would eliminate the association’s medical coverage effective Dec. 31, 2013.

According to the release, the GHLIT private insurance exchange will provide tools and live customer support to help AVMA members shop, compare costs and benefits, and purchase a medical plan. “Our new Web-based insurance exchange marketplace will enable our members to easily and conveniently review and compare medical insurance options, and is an innovative solution to the challenges created by recent events impacting GHLIT medical coverage,” says James H. Brandt, DVM, GHLIT chair.

The first phase of the GHLIT exchange is scheduled to roll out in early March and will focus on the needs of members age 65 and older or who turn 65 this year. The second phase, to be live in late spring, will expand to cover the remaining membership.

According to its website, HPS, based in Tampa, Fla., is “the largest independent provider of sales, benefits administration, retention and technology solutions to the insurance and managed care industries.” The benefit crossroads platform aims to provide consumers with access, information, choices and guidance in selecting insurance coverage. “Purchasing individual insurance can be a complex and confusing process, particularly for seniors sorting through multiple Medicare options and consumers who had previously relied on their employers for coverage,” HPS President and CEO Jeff Bak said in a release when the benefits crossroads platform was launched in May 2012. “What they need--and what benefit crossroads delivers--is a simple and convenient resource dedicated to helping them make the right insurance decisions for themselves and their families.”