HMAA Creates New Division, Offers Non-Health-Related Business Services
HONOLULU – Hawaii Medical Assurance Association (HMAA), the second-largest Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) in Hawaii, has established a new division – Business Alliance Hawaii – to provide small and mid-sized businesses with a suite of non-health-related business services that save time and money. Business Alliance Hawaii, a registered name owned by HMAA, has launched three new services, which are being offered at special rates to HMAA’s 42,000 members.
The creation of the new division significantly advances HMAA founder Arnold Baptiste Sr.’s vision of providing a highly valuable, diverse selection of business services tailored to the needs of the small and mid-sized companies that constitute HMAA’s growing member base.
“Business Alliance Hawaii will support the rollout of thoughtfully selected non-health-related services and other value-added benefits to help businesses to not only survive, but to prosper in this challenging economy,” said John Henry Felix, chairman, president and CEO of HMAA. “We’re making available to our small and mid-sized business members tools that until now have generally been available only to large companies.”
Many of the non-health-related services that HMAA is now rolling out through Business Alliance Hawaii are, in whole or in part, the result of a joint services agreement that HMAA signed in March with Ceridian Corporation, a leading global business services company. The agreement allows for the cross-marketing of services to their respective customers and members and establishes the framework for HMAA to provide non-health-related products and services to its members. In Hawaii, Ceridian serves more than 3,000 employers representing 220,000 employees, while HMAA serves more than 3,300 employers with more than 42,000 members.
One of the new Business Alliance Hawaii services being offered to HMAA members as a result of the Ceridian agreement is pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation coverage through HEMIC, at 5 percent savings. This coverage, offered to HMAA members who receive payroll services from Ceridian, includes automatic monthly reports that allow businesses to pay only for the coverage they need with no down payment or monthly installment fees.
Business Alliance Hawaii is also providing identity theft and legal protection to HMAA members through its affiliation with ID Theft Solutions of America, a pioneering identity theft protection agency. The company will perform a risk assessment and help create a plan to guard against identity theft, including training employees about their data security plans and developing a strategy to protect customers’ data free of charge.
In an affiliation with SuperGeeks, a Honolulu-based networking and IT security company, HMAA is providing its members with a special rate to ensure that their data is secure and their computer systems are running efficiently. The IT security service provides an evaluation of participating businesses’ networks, including data security, network speed and efficiency, hardware and software upgrade ability, and disaster recovery preparedness as well as recommendations on computer equipment.
HMAA is planning to introduce a number of other non-health-related business products and services in the coming months.
Last month, HMAA launched a cutting-edge health and productivity solutions program, HMAA Wellness for Life, free to its members, to help businesses lower healthcare costs and improve productivity.
HMAA has always been known as Hawaii’s leading provider of superior health insurance benefits for small and medium-sized businesses, and larger employers as well. HMAA’s medical plans include alternative benefits such as acupuncture, chiropractic and naturopathic care, as well as life insurance, wellness programs, and dental, orthodontia, vision and prescription drug riders. It offers the best medical plan option for sole proprietors in the state. HMAA’s benefits and rates can be customized for any company. More information is available at www.hmaa.com.
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