Fringe Benefit Group Announces Special Enrollment Period for Individuals who Previously Declined Health Insurance Coverage

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the COVID–19 coronavirus pandemic impacts thousands of lives around the world, many hourly employees in the U.S. lack basic health insurance protection and the comfort of knowing they have access to testing and medical services.

Fringe Benefit Group, an industry leader in the design, implementation and administration of benefit plans for hourly workers, via The American Worker, its turnkey benefits platform, today announced that it has created a new special eligibility window to allow individuals who previously declined participation in their employer’s benefit plan offerings to enroll in a benefit program. This Special Enrollment Period is an opportunity to access affordable, valuable coverage in the face of a pandemic when most insurance plans do not offer enrollment chances until the annual Open Enrollment period.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on every industry. Organizations are executing their business continuity plans and many employees are concerned about the future of their jobs,” said Jon Duczak, vice president, Fringe Benefit Group. “The impact of business shutdowns / layoffs and medical needs are at an interesting intersection with the country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. In these difficult times, we asked ourselves how we could help and what we could do, and determined that offering people who had previously declined coverage the ability to enroll in a health plan would be a good way to start.”

The American Worker is making this eligibility change available to existing customers beginning March 23, 2020. Organizations will communicate to their employees that they have been granted this special window of eligibility and then employees can access benefit information via The American Worker’s online portal or via its call centers. Company representatives will provide benefit explanations, answer questions and/or enroll individuals into the plans they choose.

The American Worker provides fully insured fixed indemnity, self-funded Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) and MEC variant plans, and self-funded major medical insurance options to some of the nation’s leading restaurant, retail, hospitality, nursing and staffing companies. As part of its focus on simplifying benefit plan administration and providing value to employers, The American Worker offers an electronic platform that manages eligibility, payroll deductions and billing. The turnkey platform includes employee communication materials and is supported by online tools and call center representatives.

For more information, visit www.theamericanworker.com, www.fbg.com, or www.contractorsplan.com.