Insurance Plans Associate Director

 Purpose

To ensure the efficient operation of the UUA Health Plan and all group insurance products and enrollment, billing, and collection systems in full compliance with legal, regulatory, and audit requirements. To provide comprehensive benefits guidance to congregations, informing and guiding congregational leaders as they create durable, legal benefits policies. To manage data collection and analysis to inform the annual Health Plan audit process.

Principal Responsibilities

   1.  UUA Health Plan Administration

·         Oversees the Plan’s daily operations. Reviews weekly self-insured claims runs, authorizes payment to Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and prepares cash-flow summaries for the Plan Trustees.

·         Serves as the secondary liaison to the UUA Employee Benefits Trust for all functions as requested by the Director.

·         Meets periodically with Highmark team managers and Plan actuaries to review claims experience, trends, problems, and projections. Develops and presents recommendations for strategic interventions to the Director.

·         Resolves member benefits and claims issues.            

·         Supports the annual audit by gathering required information from congregations, tabulating congregational contribution data, and ensuring congregation’s submissions of all audit documentation.

·         Maintains master schedule of compliance activities mandated by federal healthcare reform regulations. Prepares and distributes mandated notices, documents, and benefit descriptions to plan participants.

·         Oversees the work of the Insurance Plans Coordinator including all eligibility, enrollment, billing, and collection activities, questions, and member and congregational concerns.

   2.  Group Insurance Plans

·         Serves as the internal expert on all Life and Disability claims on behalf of participants, congregational leaders, and beneficiaries.

·         Coordinates the submission of claims. Solves technical issues of contract interpretation, working closely with the UUA’s insurance broker.

·         Reviews and authorizes monthly payment to insurance company partners.

·         Participates in insurance company bid review and plan renewal process. Recommends plan enhancements to keep the UUA’s group insurance plans at or above industry standards.

   3.  Marketing

·         Creates content for informational brochures, web-based resources, and social media communications regarding the UUA Health Plan and Group Insurance Plans. Creates marketing materials for open enrollment initiatives.

·         Creates and executes periodic member satisfaction surveys.

   4.   Database Management

·         Designs and maintains a comprehensive database tracking the participation of congregations and their staff in the UUA health, group insurance, and retirement plans, including data derived from the UUA Staffing and Compensation Report and the retirement, health, and group insurance databases.

·         Develops project specifications and coordinate implementation with the UUA’s Information Technology Services staff group for any database, web-based programs, reporting, or other applications. 

·         Analyzes barriers to congregational participation in OCSF benefit plans. Conducts periodic surveys of congregational insurance purchasing decisions and patterns to develop targets for marketing efforts.

   5.  General

·         Maintains an operations manual with complete, current documentation for all essential tasks, including the documentation used by the Insurance Plans Coordinator to enforce congregational compliance with plan rules and procedures.

·         Assists with design of the OCSF website including curation of insurance-related content.

·         Actively participates in the Church Benefits Association representing the UUA and the UUA Health Plan.

·         Participates in General Assembly workshops and other sessions.

·         Performs other duties as requested by supervisor, the Office of Church Staff Finances Director, the Co-Directors of Ministries and Faith Development, or the Executive Vice President, or the President.

Qualifications

This is a Grade 12 position (expected hiring range $51,200 - $78,600 depending on experience). Note that qualifications may be met as a result of lived experience, volunteer work, professional experience, and/or formal or informal training. Requirements include:

·         A sound grasp of life, dental, disability, and health insurance fundamentals including regulatory issues, plan design and pricing, common legal issues for health plans, and standard insurance actuarial practices demonstrated by industry experience. Experience with self-insured health plans is a plus.

·         Solid understanding of the IRS, DOL, ERISA, and ACA landscape as applied to self-insured multiple employer plans and/or IRS qualified Church Plans.

·         Strong communication, analytic, organizational, and customer service skills.

·         Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word); Access (or equivalent database), familiarity with enrollment/billing systems and ad hoc queries of complex databases preferred. 

·         Familiarity with web content management software is very helpful. 

·         Work or lived experience with communities of color or indigenous peoples is of particular value.

·         Eagerness to work in an organization in which the dismantling of white supremacy is a high priority.

·         Knowledge of Unitarian Universalist congregational life is helpful. 

·         Ability to travel as needed, including to the annual UUA General Assembly each June.

How to Apply

People with disabilities, people of color, indigenous people, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ candidates are encouraged to apply. The UUA is committed to developing a diverse and talented staff team. If you are excited about this role, but are unsure whether you meet 100% of the requirements, we encourage you to inquire and/or apply. Send cover letter and résumé—indicating “Insurance Plans Associate Director” in the subject line—via e‑mail to careers@uua.org, via fax to (617) 948-6467, or to Human Resources, UUA, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210. E‑mail submissions preferred.

About the UUA

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a progressive religious denomination headquartered in Boston’s waterfront Fort Point Innovation District with offices in Washington, DC and at the United Nations in New York City. Our faith community of more than 1,000 self-governing congregations brings to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance, and social justice. Our normal workweek is 35 hours, we pay 80% contribution towards health insurance premiums, 11% towards retirement (after one year), and have generous paid time-off policies. We are a great place to work and we value diversity. The UUA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to the full inclusion of all. As part of this commitment, the UUA will ensure that applicants and staff with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (617) 948-4648 or humanresources@uua.org. For more information on the UUA, visit us online at UUA.org and uuworld.org.

Support for the Mission and Values of the Association

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a progressive and historic religious denomination. While it is not generally required or expected that an applicant/employee identify as a Unitarian Universalist (UU) or be a member of a UU congregation in order to work at the UUA, all UUA staff members are expected to perform their job duties in accordance with the UUA’s values, principles and mission. In particular the following points, drawn from the Seven UU Principles, are of particular importance for the UUA’s work environment and staff culture:

·         The inherent worth and dignity of every human being: We affirm the need for a human-centered workplace that allows our diverse staff to flourish. We also understand that our wider culture and society oppresses and denies human dignity, and we seek to counter the effects of that oppression in our hiring and workplace culture so that each person feels whole and valued.

·         Justice, equity and compassion in human relations, and the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all: We speak openly and publicly of our support for social and political issues, including LGBTQ equity, racial justice, climate justice, gender equity, and reproductive justice.

·         The interdependent web of existence: We recognize that the liberation of all people is interwoven, and we work to counter patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, environmental exploitation, and other interrelated systems of marginalization.