Enrollment Opportunity Now Open for New Indiana Farm Bureau Health Plans

With the launch of Indiana Farm Bureau Health Plans October 1^st, “this is an exciting week for Indiana Farm Bureau,” says INFB president Randy Kron. The launch allows members to review the rates and various coverages for plans going into effect starting in 2021. Members can also begin the application process now.

Megan Ritter, INFB executive director of administration explains, “The plans were really specifically aimed at addressing the needs in the under 65 market for members who don’t have access to employer plans or an ACA-subsidized plan.”

With the majority of Farm Bureau members indicating they were sole proprietors and not eligible for many plans that require two or more employees, a change in Indiana law was needed.

“So, we worked with the General Assemble, Senator Charboneau and Representative Manning and drafted a bill and got really bipartisan support to be able to offer these innovative plans,” Ritter explained. “What we were able to do was to get an exemption to the current law which allows us to offer fully underwritten individual health plans. It’s important to note that Indiana Farm Bureau Health Plans are not insurance and Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance is not a health company.”

INFB plans include individual and family plans, Medicare Supplement and dental and vision, and Ritter says they’ll be in the UnitedHealthcare Choice Plus network.

“That’s a large, nationwide network that is very expansive in terms of its coverage with 95 percent of hospitals nationwide being in that network.”

Patrick Williams, INFB Health Plans manager says rates will be quite attractive since Farm Bureau is underwriting. One example for a family of four with ages 35, 30, 8 and 6, and the 2020 “CareSource (monthly) rate is $1,354.52. Our health plan’s preferred rate is $571 which is $783 monthly in savings, or 58% savings.”

There is a new website https://infbhealthplans.com/ with more details, and Williams will be hosting online events for members and outreach around the state as soon as practical. More audio comments from INFB’s Megan and Patrick are here: