The Good News in Health Care

Kris Finley, National Board President

As National Board President, I have been aware of the ELEA benefit program that has been put together jointly by Nancy Bond Insurance Services and ELEA for its members for over a year and a half now. We have all hoped that this program would mean big savings for its members. I am here to share with you my school's experience because it has far exceeded our expectations and we are so pleased!

For three years Trinity Lutheran Preschool has paid for medical, dental and vision insurance for its members. We are located in Lynnwood, Washington. In the past year we spent $3,804 per staff member through another insurance broker that serves Lutheran schools. During the past reenrollment period we were notified that there was to be a 30% increase in monthly payments. That would mean $12,000 more than last year with the 12 staff persons to be covered. A tough one to bite.....and the dental plan had changed three times in three years. That was an increased annoyance, especially for someone that was in need of major dental work.

The school filled out the ELEA Employee Benefits census form and returned it to Nancy Bond to obtain quotes for coverage and waited. It was explained that this was necessary because the company would only be paying for the exact persons on the plan...that it would be managed and the rates would reflect our statistics with regard to age. This was different than the other company we had dealt with which had one price for coverage regardless of this information. I could see where it would work to our advantage!

We worked closely with Nancy Bond, who oversees all the ELEA plans, to choose the best plan available to us within our budget for this year. When the final quote came in we were so elated and pleased. We will see a savings of $16,416 this year. The icing on the top is that we have chosen a better plan than we had with the previous company and it was tailor made for us and our particular staff needs.

The board couldn't be happier with the savings and the level of benefits provided. Such a wise use of the money!!  One thing that you must realize as you consider checking this out for your school.....even though you may have just reenrolled with another company...you are not locked in. You may at anytime terminate services by sending them a short note to terminate.  Another way is to not pay the bill when it comes. However, you must not terminate services until you have a policy in place so there is no interruption of benefits. This would adversely affect your situation.

I hope that you and your school can see some sort of savings, if not the dramatic savings that we are enjoying. Certainly this will vary depending on where you are located and lots of other considerations.

We at ELEA would like to hear about your experiences with Nancy Bond Insurance Services. We work very closely with them to provide the very best services for our ELEA Lutheran Schools and Centers and would like to get feedback. Please contact Nancy Bond Insurance Services at 866-899-8559 or nancy@nbondinsurance.com for more information about the ELEA Benefit Plan.  You may also visit the ELEA web site at www.eleanational.org and click on "Benefits".

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