RWA Partners with Ten Other Associations in the "Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership"

Thursday, July 9, 2020   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Houston, TX – July 9, 2020) -- On July 7, 2020, Romance Writers of America (RWA) joined the Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership (BIHIP), a coalition of 11 organizations, including RWA, in partnership with Lighthouse Insurance Group (LIG) Solutions to provide its members with a choice of health insurance options. RWA joins in this partnership with American Booksellers Association, American Society for Indexing, Authors Guild, Book Industry Study Group, Graphic Artists Guild, Horror Writers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, Novelists Inc., Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and Western Writers of America Inc.

Since April 2018, BIHIP has been vetting various companies for association-sponsored health insurance programs. Initially, BIHIP was formed following a presidential executive order that expanded eligibility for organizations to pool resources across state lines to offer members health insurance at negotiated rates. BIHIP's goal, at that time, was to create an official Association Health Plan (AHP). BIHIP’s goal, however, had to be modified when the 2018 executive order was deemed illegal. Although the government appealed the ruling, the case is still in the courts.

With an official AHP off the table, the coalition modified its goal to find a company that could provide the coalition's members with extensive knowledge of the health insurance market in order to help them navigate the wide array of insurance options, including ACA-compliant major medical, Medicare/supplements, short term policies, vision, dental, critical care, supplemental coverage, as well as small group/Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).

Additionally, the coalition wanted to ensure everyone could take advantage of the benefit, including: association staff and their immediate family; individual members and their immediate family; business owners and their W2 employees; 1099-employees/independent contractors; and association volunteers.
The partnership with LIG Solutions addresses all of the goals above; the coalition is committed to launching the program by the fall.

LIG Solutions is a division of Lighthouse Insurance Group, an insurance advisor with experience in the health, life, and Medicare insurance industry. LIG Solutions offers insurance solutions for associations, societies, membership organizations, and other affinity groups. LIG Solutions helps people understand their health benefits and different plan options to determine the appropriate health insurance option. While health insurance agents typically only represent one carrier, LIG broadens consumers’ choices and can sell insurance from many insurance companies in all 50 states.

For more information on this new offering, see RWA's FAQs.
________________________________________
About Romance Writers of America

Romance Writers of America® (RWA) is a nonprofit trade association whose mission is to advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by increasing public awareness of the romance genre. RWA works to support the efforts of its members to earn a living, to make a full-time career out of writing romance—or a part-time one that generously supplements their main income. Find more at www.rwa.org.