Self-Funded UUA Health Plan

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Employee Benefits Trust, through its Board of Trustees and Health Plan staff, operates a self-funded health plan built on partnership.

  • The Board of Trustees:

    • Determines the benefits.
    • Sets the rates.
    • Determines eligibility.
    • Oversees all operations.
    • Chooses the companies that provide administrative services (for example, claims payments and billing and collection).
  • By owning and controlling our own plan we can:

    • Tailor our benefits to fit our own vision of affordable health care.
    • Respond to member requests to consider changes in the plan.
    • Have the flexibility to make important improvements to benefits and eligibility.
  • We have chosen to contract with Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Pittsburgh, PA, for administrative services.

    • Members have access to the services of over 720,000 doctors, hospitals, and other providers nationwide.
    • Members around the country have access to a uniform benefit plan.
  • Benefits to a UUA-owned, self-funded plan with deep discounts on a not-for-profit basis include:

    • Significant reduction in total outlays for payment of claims and administration.
    • No compensation for high-level marketing people.
    • No expensive occupancy costs.
    • No advertising campaigns to inflate our expenses.
    • Yearly rate increases lower than average market rate increases.
    • Finances of the Health Plan are kept separate from the UUA's financial structure. All plan resources are dedicated to the benefit of plan members.
  • Congregations and other UU organizations:

    • Identify their eligible staff, who complete the UUA Health Plan Enrollment Application.
    • The only cost to congregations is for their share of the premiums.
    • There is no cost for submitting an enrollment application.
    • We use the online application to enroll people in the UUA plan, generate ID cards, and issue invoices.
  • Providers submit their claims to their local BCBS plan.

    • Highmark approves and pays the claims.
    • Members are responsible only for deductibles and coinsurance amounts, some out-of-network charges, and services not covered by the plan.
  • Highmark maintains a state-of-the-art website where enrollees can:

    • Find a provider their area.
    • Check on claims status.
    • Handle many routine transactions.
    • Access a broad range of health information and wellness tools.