Insurance For All Stages of Your Life

The Board of Trustees, Group Insurance Plans for ACS Members is committed to expanding and improving the insurance and financial security products offered to ACS members. These valuable benefits help members safeguard personal assets, and they stay with you even if you change jobs or retire sooner than you expected.

On the basis of the results of a member survey on insurance needs, the board is pleased to announce the introduction of two products: Medicare Supplemental Insurance (MediGap) and Medical Discount Cards that can be used for discounts on prescription drugs, dental and vision care, and other products and services. Details on these plans, as well as on all of our products, can be found at www.acs.org/insurance.

MediGap is an important aspect of retiree health care, filling in the gaps that Medicare doesn’t cover. The Board of Trustees selected TransAmerica, a national provider rated A for financial strength by A.M. Best rating agency, as the insurance carrier for this product. In most areas of the U.S., TransAmerica offers ACS members substantial premium savings over other carriers. TransAmerica has a long history of offering MediGap plans to associations and provides support services such as personal consultations with licensed insurance professionals and educational materials. We are pleased to add this plan to the portfolio of plans offered to ACS members.

The Board of Trustees is also enhancing your health insurance product portfolio with new Medical Discount Cards available through a strategic alliance with New Benefits. Medical Discount Cards can help ACS members save money on the cost of health care and related services. Select from three affordable plans for all of, or a combination of, these products:

■ Prescription drugs
■ Dental care
■ Vision care
■ Hearing aids
■ Vitamins, skin care products, and diabetic supplies
■ Durable medical equipment
■ Chiropractic care
■ Consult A Doctor
■ Long-term elder care
■ Counseling
■ Travel assistance

Medical Discount Cards provide reduced fees on frequently used health-related services, most of which are not covered under typical health insurance plans, and members without health insurance can use the cards to alleviate the costs of their health care.

One of the goals of the ACS Member Insurance Program is to offer our members educational workshops on insurance plans and financial security issues. An area we are focusing on in 2010 is retirement planning. “Retirewise,” a retirement planning workshop developed by Metropolitan Life Insurance and presented by certified financial planners, is being offered at both national meetings and at selected local section meetings as a test to determine whether ACS members across the country would like to have this workshop presented to them. Please let us know whether this type of workshop offering is of interest to you.

We have also presented several webinars on long-term care and one that is entitled “Covering Your Elements: Understanding Professional Liability Concerns Facing Scientific Consultants and Strategies To Protect Yourself.” And if you haven’t already done so, please go to our website (www.acs.org/insurance) and click on the link to “360 Degrees of Financial Literacy,” a comprehensive financial education program for all life stages. This information is provided to ACS members through our partnership with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The flagship of the Member Insurance Program continues to be the Annually Renewable Term Life Plan, insuring more than 20,000 members and their families. At its October 2009 meeting, the Board of Trustees reviewed the rate structure of the plan and determined that the claims experience over the past seven years was favorable. As a result, the board is pleased to report that it approved an average rate reduction of 10% on the term life rates effective April 1, 2010. The last premium reduction in the term life plan occurred in 2002. We continually monitor our existing plans and seek out new plans to ensure that ACS members receive value-added benefits that cannot be found in the open marketplace.

The Member Insurance Program continues to be financially sound even during these uncertain and challenging economic times due to a conservative investment policy and careful management of the program. The Member Insurance Program seeks to offer ACS members the peace of mind that comes from having a secure foundation for their families’ financial future. Please let us know how we can better serve you by calling (800) 227-5558 ext. 8911 or by e-mailing memins@acs.org.

Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS.