Since 2005, a Texas company is offering a brand new type of health plan that is different from any traditional coverage available.
The plan covers anything that promotes healthy lifestyles — including massages, acupuncture, and even water purifiers — at a cost as low as $150 a month.
The company providing the plan is the W.I.N. Association, who is based out of Pasadena, Texas.
In Utah, there are a couple dozen members in the self-funded W.I.N. Association Health Plan, reported The Salt Lake Tribune.
But the Utah Insurance Department isn’t too pleased with the new product. They say the plan isn’t licensed to provide health insurance in the state and have gone as far as ordering a cease-and-desist order on the company.
The W.I.N. Association doesn’t have to abide by insurance regulations, argues the company’s owner, Michael Bianchi. He points out that because the W.I.N. plan is an Association Health Plan (AHP), it is not bound by traditional insurance laws.
“If you try to put us in the same box as traditional insurance, it doesn’t work, ” said Bianchi.
The W.I.N. plan also differs from regular health insurance because benefits increase every year a member is enrolled.
W.I.N. is currently trying to get a written exemption from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) so they can continue business in Utah.