| Back
to the Drawing Board on Health Insurance By: Mary Riemersma, Executive Director |
| CAMFT is very disappointed
to report that we are back to square one in attempting to offer a health
care or dental insurance program for members. Some months ago we reported
on the CAMFT Board of Director’s authorization to develop a relationship
with 1201 K Financial, a for-profit subsidiary of the California Dental
Association, to offer a variety of insurance products to CAMFT members,
including health and dental insurance. Since, by California law (as presented
in the article on this topic in The Therapist*), we cannot create a program
for members, we have been in search of a viable opportunity to make such
coverage available through other sources. This program seemed like an
outstanding opportunity to meet the needs of members through a reputable
entity. Unfortunately, it takes agreement from both sides to build a relationship.
We were ready to move ahead, but 1201 K Financial and the California Dental
Association needed time to confer with attorneys, their Board and likely
others. Following repeated delays in their making a decision, they finally
came back to us indicating that the only way they would do a program with
us was if they also could take over our professional liability/malpractice
insurance as well. In other words, they turned down the relationship for
financial reasons. They believed the costs they would expend would not
be recouped unless they also had the income from our professional liability
insurance program to support the endeavor. We, after months of waiting
for their answer, would not consider moving a successful malpractice insurance
program to an unknown, especially one that was beginning to lose favor
in our eyes due to many months of delayed action. Thus, we are back to the drawing board on finding a
viable program for members. We will continue in our quest to find a
program to meet the needs of the many members who are seeking insurance.
We are very sorry for this delay as we know many of you have been waiting
for months to take advantage of what appeared to be a worthwhile opportunity. |