34 OCtOBER 2014 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
By Keith Reid
Private healthcare exchanges
A variety of industry associations are working to help their members
move ahead with healthcare benefits under the ACA
A
number of state and regional associations are
establishing private exchanges (marketplaces)
for their members to offer them an option
as the Affordable Care Act—or Obamacare—
moves forward.
For example, New England Fuel Institute has con-
tracted with the national employee benefit consulting firm,
gbac, inc., of North Haven, Conn., to launch a private
health insurance and employee benefits marketplace for its
members in Massachusetts. NEFI will offer the program
in partnership with the Massachusetts Energy Marketers
Association.
"The launch of our private marketplace after the first of
the year is important to delivering a tremendous array of
health insurance and other employee benefit options to our
members—unlike what our members could find anywhere
else. In addition, our partner at gbac delivers important
compliance and administrative help to our members in the
wake of the Affordable Care Act," said Michael Trunzo,
CEO of NEFI in a release.
The Connecticut Energy Marketers Association has sim-
ilarly contracted with gbac, inc. for its Health & Employee
Benefits Marketplace. The Oilheat Institute of Rhode Island
is also moving ahead with a private exchange benefit.
FON interviewed gbac, inc.'s Joseph A. Bucci Jr., CPA,
about the private exchange option.
FON: How prepared are industry companies for the
changes occurring under the ACA?
Bucci: What we're finding is that most employers still
do not have a good understanding about what the require-
ments are, and what expectations they should be setting for
employees. And more so, they do not really understand the
impact to rates that all of the changes under the Affordable
Care Act have made to the entire economic process of offer-
ing group coverage.
FON: Is that the driver behind the associations becom-
ing more involved with the issue from a member benefits
standpoint?
What we're finding is that most employers still do not have
a good understanding about what the requirements are, and
what expectations they should be setting for employees.
Joseph A. Bucci Jr
