ABA’s Health Insurance Benefit Goes Live; Register for an Upcoming Webinar

On Tuesday, August 4, the American Booksellers Association launched its membership health insurance benefit with LIG Solutions. The new partnership with LIG Solutions will allow ABA members to gain access to LIG’s extensive knowledge of the health insurance market, which will help members navigate a wide array of insurance options, including ACA-compliant major medical, Medicare/supplements, short-term policies, vision, dental, critical care, and supplemental coverage, as well as small group/Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRAs) programs.

Members can take the following steps to learn more about the health insurance partnership:

1. Visit ABA’s LIG landing page to learn more about the program as well as schedule an appointment to learn more about this valuable American Booksellers Association member benefit. (An ABA login is required to access the landing page).
2. Call ABA’s unique phone number with LIG to speak directly with the American Booksellers Association/LIG team of licensed advisors about your health coverage needs. (An ABA login is required to access the phone number).
3. Read ABA’s frequently asked questions about this health insurance partnership. For questions not answered by this FAQ, please contact David Grogan, ABA’s Director of ABFE, Advocacy & Public Policy, at [email protected].
4. Register for the ABA/LIG webinar being held Wednesday, August 19, at 2:00 p.m. ET to learn more. This informative presentation will last approximately 45 minutes, will go over all program details, and will allow you to ask questions. The webinar will be hosted by Tim McNichols, Executive Director of Partnerships at LIG Solutions. If you cannot attend, a recording of the webinar will be made available. Register for the webinar here.

Members can contact LIG Solutions to inquire about health coverage options at any time.

Bookstore owners can make a new health insurance policy available to their booksellers through LIG Solutions during your store’s usual annual open enrollment period.

Booksellers with health insurance currently through the exchange can purchase a health insurance policy during their state’s open enrollment period or their special enrollment period. (Most states’ open enrollment periods begin November 1, 2020. Check your state’s website or contact LIG for more information.)

ABA announced this partnership with LIG in June 2020 as part of a larger partnership with the Book Industry Health Insurance Partnership (BIHIP), a coalition of 11 organizations formed in April 2018 to explore health insurance options for members. BIHIP consists of consists of the American Booksellers Association, American Society for Indexing, Authors Guild, Book Industry Study Group, Graphic Artists Guild, Horror Writers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, Novelists Inc., Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and Western Writers of America Inc.

The health insurance options LIG Solutions offers will ensure that all stores and their employees can take advantage of the benefit, by covering individual members and their immediate family; business owners and their W2 employees; 1099-employees/independent contractors; association volunteers; and association staff and their immediate family. Additionally, the health plans are tailored to members’ unique health and financial needs.

Find ABA’s LIG landing page and unique phone number under “For Booksellers” and “LIG Health Insurance” on Bookweb.org.