MBC partners with private colleges, universities on health-care benefits
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Mary Baldwin College announced this week that it has entered into a partnership with 11 other private colleges in Virginia in the formation of a newly created benefits consortium designed to keep health care affordable.
The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, an association of Virginia nonprofit private colleges, formed the program after studying similar efforts in a handful of states where private colleges have formed similar consortia.
CICV is the only organization in Virginia authorized by the Virginia General Assembly to operate a self-insured plan of this type.
“This unique partnership shows that private colleges are serious about health care cost containment and good stewardship of tuition dollars and contributions,” CICV President Robert Lambeth said. “Quality employee benefit plans also serve to attract the best faculty and staff to private colleges in Virginia so that we can continue to provide the finest liberal arts education available anywhere in the country.”
Twelve CICV colleges united after eight years of research and planning to form the consortium. With 3,000 employees at these institutions, the consortium can achieve more flexibility in medical plan design, enhanced benefits, more effective cost controls, greater presence in the health care marketplace, and the stability that comes with being part of a larger risk pool. The consortium will be able to use the extensive data available to a self-insured program to gain a better understanding of health care issues that are driving costs and help member colleges mitigate those costs.
In addition to lowered insurance costs over the long term, the consortium board is committed to reducing demands on the health-care system through the implementation of wellness programs. Working together, the 12 colleges can share resources and best practices to design programs that will have a real impact on the overall health and well-being of their campus communities.
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