Taking ownership: 40 Square begins fourth health plan enrollment season
40 Square Cooperative Solutions is truly one-of-a kind.
The organization is first among equals, the lone independent Minnesota agricultural health plan co-op providing health plans to farm families, agribusinesses and their employees access to self-funded health insurance options. The co-op is now gearing up for its fourth year of open enrollment, which began Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2020 for Jan. 1, 2021 effective dates.
40 Square Executive Director Char Vrieze has been encouraged by the enrollment outcome over the organization’s first three years, which yielded more than 1,000 individuals. But she credits the strength of Minnesota’s cooperatives to 40 Square’s success. Minnesota is the leading cooperative state in the nation, supporting more than 600 co-ops – many of which are engaged in production agriculture.
“Like other co-ops that have led the way for strong agriculture communities, 40 Square is helping to preserve the proud traditions of agriculture for generations to come,” Vrieze said.
Structure of Cooperative and Health Plan
The 40 Square Cooperative Solutions co-op sponsors the health plan and is governed by a board of directors elected by members/patrons. Fifty-one percent of governance is members and patrons, 49 percent is investment partners.
There are no insurance companies involved. Participant members pay into the co-op to self-fund the health plan. Those premium dollars are then placed into a Trust, only to be used for health plan expenses. The Trust is a separate board governed by the five elected plan members; however, all health plan participants have 100 percent ownership interest in the Trust. If resources are not spent during any given health plan year, the money remains in the Trust and helps stabilize premium increases for the following plan year.
“The difference with 40 Square is we can take ownership in our plan,” 40 Square Chair Robby Gieseke said. “We can provide a comprehensive health plan at a competitive price for my family and our employees. What’s great about 40 Square is we can sculpt the plan that we see benefits us the most.”
Health Plan Details
40 Square offers members a variety of seven health plans to choose from, including health savings account (HSA) eligible plans. Similar to traditional health insurance, 40 Square’s self-funded plans have an annual deductible, coinsurance and copays that members are responsible for. The amount of coverage received depends on the plan selected. Additional optional benefits include vision, dental and life. Other non-insurance products to enhance the health plan include: hearing benefits, free telemedicine doctor visits, care navigators that help explain tests, claims or billing and cost comparisons for procedures. In addition, the co-op offers AgriPlan and BizPlan, which helps farmers and agribusinesses declare medical expenses as a business expense on taxes.
A New Partnership for 2021: Effective Jan. 1, 2021, 40 Square is changing its health plan administrator to Aetna, a nationally renowned carrier. The transition to Aetna will provide 40 Square access to Aetna’s cost-effective network with a goal toward long-term savings for its members, along with improved customer service, Gieseke said.
“We’re very excited to make the change to Aetna,” Gieseke said. “40 Square is constantly aiming to improve our member benefits while adding value to our members, and this move to Aetna accomplishes that goal.”
Membership Criteria
To become a member of 40 Square, farmers, agribusinesses and ag trade associations must meet certain criteria:
- Actively work in production agriculture in Minnesota
- File either Form 1065 or Schedule F with their income tax return or provide direct services to production agriculture in Minnesota. This includes farm corporations and businesses that predominately receive their income from providing their services to production agriculture
- Purchase Voting Stock in an amount of $100 (one-time, only for the farm/business)
- Purchase Common Stock of $1,000 over the first year (one-time, only for the farm/business/employer)
- Have a minimum of one “Common Law” employee. (In general, someone who you provide a W-2 does not have to be a full-time employee; for example, it may be a spouse who does the books.)
- Participate for three years, otherwise risk forfeiting a portion of stock (certain exclusions apply)
Additionally, 40 Square is now proud to offer the state’s agricultural trade associations (ATA) and cooperatives the ability to join 40 Square. As a result of becoming an ATA/co-op member of 40 Square, trade associations and cooperatives are able to provide their members – should they meet the qualifications – the ability to join 40 Square with no stock investment cost.
“We’re extremely excited to announce this news with the larger agricultural community,” Vrieze said. “We’ve worked for so long to see this become a reality.”
For members and Minnesota farmers like Cole Trebesch, the 40 Square difference means joining an organization that has the best interests of its members at heart.
“I like 40 Square because it’s nice not having an insurance company that’s trying to make a bunch of money,” said Trebesch, who serves as 40 Square vice chair. “It’s a co-op to service its members.”
Contact
Interested in joining more than 1,000 Minnesotans who own their health with 40 Square? We’ve got you covered. Contact us at info@40Square.coop or 844-205-9579.