In the JVA’s most recent Club Financial Survey, 45% of clubs employ full time staff.  However, many clubs struggle to not only attract quality staff, but also retain the staff year after year. There are the obvious perks you can offer such as performance incentives, gear, free meals, and coach education.  The JVA is excited to offer clubs the opportunity to provide an even greater perk for your staff: a Group Health Insurance Program.

A family of four in good health with a $100,000 income and employer-sponsored coverage typically spends $12,400 per year (12% of their income) on health. In contrast, if that same family had at least one member in worse health, they would spend an average of $15,000 per year (15% of their income) on health. It is no secret that health care is a very complicated subject and the monthly costs have continued to rise; it has been a goal of the JVA and C&B to try and find a solution that slows that down. In 2021, after 2 years of behind the scenes work, JVA was finally ready to present a solution for clubs to explore.

“Three years ago I received a phone call from JVA Club Director and Board Member Derek Jensen, with MOD Volleyball, who introduced the idea. After speaking with Jenny Hahn, the vision of a medical benefit was great, but there was a reason why no other club association had this solution. Right away I explained to Jenny that this would be no easy task; however, the JVA has been committed since day 1 to offer a program that can help its member clubs continue to grow and prosper. Their commitment, drive and patience is what has made this possible for you today,” shares Andrea Graves of Cottingham & Butler, Inc.

“While medical benefits will not always be a deal breaker for employees, the statistics show that it is a key recruiting and retention piece that employees consider in their employment decisions. While many of you have access to your state filed programs, our intention is to offer a more stable financial program, while enhancing your employees’ experience and understanding of their benefit. I am very excited to have partnered with the JVA on this and look forward to helping you and your employees!”

Through the JVA Health Insurance Program each club will own their policy, but this program allows the clubs to be viewed as a larger group under the JVA umbrella. This will help with affordability and stability during annual renewals.

As Andrea said, this was a two year program in the making.  However, the idea was mentioned to me by Mike Lingenfelter on a call almost five years ago,” says JVA Executive Director Jenny Hahn. “Even though a federal law was passed allowing associations to offer insurance coverage that crosses state lines for members across the county, it was not something that the insurance companies were all that excited about. We are so grateful to the diligence of Andrea Graves with Cottingham & Butler, Inc. and Key Benefit Administration for their hard work in making this happen.  The ability to provide a lower cost health plan to your club’s employees is a game changer for our industry.”

Clubs have access to offer 3 different medical plan options:
$1,000 PPO Plan
$4,000 PPO Plan
$2,800 HSA Qualified Plan

Enrollment is open for clubs with a minimum of two W2 employees. The W2 employees need to average over 30 hours per week.

States currently eligible for the program include: AL, AZ CO, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NE, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY

Health insurance can help cover you and your family financially, in the event of an illness or injury. Remember that health insurance covers a set of preventive care services—like annual physicals, screenings, lab tests, counseling, and immunizations—at no cost to you when you stay in-network.

For more information on the JVA Club Health Insurance Program click here.

To learn more about becoming a JVA member click here.

This article was written by Briana Schunzel, JVA Director of Marketing, Education and Partner Development, in collaboration with Andrea Graves of Cottingham & Butler, Inc.