HR Policy Institute Unveils National Health Access Plan

The program is to be offered through the HR Policy Association’s Affordable Health Care Solutions Coalition, which represents over 50 companies in the Fortune 500, according to a press release.

The program is open to workers and individuals who are connected to the coalition’s participating companies, according to the release, and is designed for people who are not eligible for employee-based coverage, as well as their spouses, domestic partners, and dependents. These people might be part-time workers, temporary or seasonal employees, contract workers, workers at franchises of over 50 workers, and pre-Medicare retirees without coverage.

The National Health Access program will provide up to six levels of coverage, available at different prices. Wellness, dental and vision benefits have also been incorporated into the program, and pending state-by-state approval, open enrollment will begin September 1, 2005.

The Coalition has selected the Uniprise unit of UnitedHealth Group to be the primary provider of the group health plans, according to the release. CIGNA and Humana will also be involved in some target areas. Hewitt Associates will be the plan administrator.

“National Health Access is the first of what we hope to be several steps by employers to give uninsured working Americans greater access to health care,” said coalition chairman Greg Lee, Senior Vice President of HR for Sears Roebuck. “The problem of the uninsured is a national one that requires national solutions. We can begin that process by building a structure that the nation’s largest employers can use to offer health benefits to hundreds of thousands of working Americans without employer provided care.”