Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows that total health expenditures in the U.S. have been on the rise, with health spending reaching $3.8 trillion in 2019.
To help combat the rising cost of healthcare and increase workers’ access to affordable insurance coverage, Nationwide Marketing Group has launched the channel’s first and only health insurance program exclusively for independent retailers and their employees.
Managed by insurance brokerage firm Lockton Affinity, the health insurance program offers an alternative to Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange plans in addition to ancillary benefits like dental, vision, accident, lump sum critical illness with cancer coverage, ID theft protection, and more.
While the program isn’t meant to replace any full-coverage plans Nationwide members offer today, it’s specifically designed for retailers who don’t already offer insurance coverage to their employees.
“This much-needed program allows us to provide affordable medical coverage to retailers from coast to coast, without creating any administrative work for our members,” explains Chris Kirk, vice president of business and financial services for Nationwide Marketing Group. “Instead, employees can work with our trained benefits advisors to pick their own plans, and the professionals at Lockton handle all the logistics.”
Employees in all 50 states are eligible for the plan, and there are no waiting periods, deductibles, or restrictions on age or pre-existing conditions. It also includes individual and family plans as well as telehealth services.
Plus, the program offers rolling enrollment, so as long as an employee enrolls by the 20th of the month, their coverage will begin on the first of the next month.
“Affordable health insurance is a universal need,” says Chris Tyrrell, producer for Lockton Affinity. “This program offers benefit choices that are not traditionally available to an individual or small employer group. Nationwide’s members and their employees will have access to options that fit every price point, from basic health plans to robust health benefit offerings.”
The health insurance plans are open only to members of Nationwide Marketing Group. To learn more, email info@nationwidegroup.org.
