History

For 30+ years, we’ve promoted the financial health and employee well-being of Pennsylvania’s independent schools.

When great ideas surface, smart schools adopt them. That’s why it’s no wonder that PAISBOA Health Benefit Trust has experienced such impressive growth and stability since its humble beginnings. Already 150+ members strong, the PAISBOA Health Benefit Trust continues to grow—expanding its membership beyond the Philadelphia region to include schools in central and western Pennsylvania.

Here’s how we got to where we are today…

1968 | A small group of independent schools in southeastern Pennsylvania sought to leverage their collective buying power for purchasing health insurance. John Batley, chief financial officer of the Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, was a driving force behind their collaborative efforts.

1991 | The Philadelphia Area Independent School Insurance Group (PAISIG) was officially created, and the first volunteer board was formed. PAISIG hired Armstrong, Doyle & Carroll, Inc. (ADC) to provide brokerage services. Throughout the 1990s, the trustees worked with ADC to bring a united, strategic vision to their relationship with Independence Blue Cross (IBC).

1999 | PAISIG became the Philadelphia Area Independent School Business Officers Association (PAISBOA). Over the next two decades, PAISBOA membership grew and several group purchasing programs and professional development opportunities were added.

2013 | The group benefit purchasing arrangement spun off as a separate entity, the PAISBOA Health Benefit Trust (Trust). The Trust was structured as a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) and offered several fully insured benefit options that could be elected by member schools to be made available to their employees. The reason behind this restructuring was the advent of the Affordable Care Act, which required the Trust to act as a single payer to allow the small-employer schools to continue to insure together.

2016 | The Trust transitioned from fully insured offerings to a self-funded arrangement providing medical and prescription drug coverage. This enabled the Trust to better control its financial future while opening up greater opportunities to serve its members. The Trust contracted with IBC for medical claims administration and outsourced its prescription drug claims administration to CVS/Caremark.

2017 | The Trust moved its medical claims administration to Aetna and began self-funding its dental claims with Delta Dental as its dental claims administrator.

2019 | The Trust returned to IBC for medical claims administration and worked in partnership with IBC to develop robust and innovative benefit programs. These include comprehensive medical plans with a focus on promoting health and wellness for the membership.

The Trust currently covers 10,000 employees, representing over 20,000 lives when you include covered dependents. You, too, can leverage the power of the flock!