A golden landmark: Group Insurance Trust turns 50.

• Position: Interview

Finding affordable health insurance is not a new problem.

In 1959, California CPAs,especially those with smaller firms were finding it difficult to obtain health insurance, so CalCPA entered into an agreement that has resulted in affordable health insurance for lens of thousands of California CPAs, their employees and families.

Today, the Group Insurance Trust offers a broad range of sell-insured offerings, including eight PPO medical plans, three HSA plans, as well as dental and vision plans. It also sponsors two HMO medical plans and group long-term disability and group life insurance products offered by other insurance companies.

As GIT celebrates 50 years of service to CPAs, California CPA sat down with Susan Young, GIT executive director, and Gale Case, GIT board of trustees chair, to learn how GIT is still providing solutions half a century later.

Who can benefit most from GIT plans?

Gale Case: The plans are valuable to firms of various sizes because of the quality of coverage provided and favorable premium costs. Also, in most cases. GIT provides the only group coverage available to solo practitioners.

What is your competitive advantage? How do you provide value to CalCPA members?

Susan Young: We offer a large portfolio of affordable health and welfare plans designed to meet the needs of firms of all sizes. The ProtectPlus program has had average rate increases of only 7 percent for the past six years, and that's a real value when compared to the California small-group marketplace that has seen rate actions averaging from 9 percent to 14 percent in each of those years.

How has GIT changed over the years?

GC: In its early years, an administrative committee, which was part of CalCPA's Members Insurance Plans Committee, oversaw GIT. In 1983, the administrative committee became a stand-alone entity that oversaw GIT's activities until the inception of the board of trustees in 1997. A trust secretary and staff oversaw GIT's day-to-day activities.

During the mid-1990s. GIT lost the ability to continue its business due to unintended consequences of California state legislation, namely AB 1672. After several years of hard work by GIT, CalCPA leadership and government relations staff, GIT won the right to begin operating as a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA)--essentially a type of insurance company, though with certain statutory and regulatory differences.

GIT hired its first full-time executive director (John Phillips, a longtime...