Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/43236
OFF THE WIRE News Briefs BREAKING DOWN THE BARISTA GUILD OF AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE MOVE Jason Dominy says he has heard the call from baristas for years. They love working around espresso and interacting with customers, but they worry about how long they can stay in the game when so few cafés can offer them health insurance. "Given the fact that medical bills are so expensive, it's a real issue for the coffee industry," says Dominy, who handles customer support for Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters' East Coast accounts. "It's a real challenge." In August, the Barista Guild of America (of which Dominy is chairperson) announced a plan to try to deal with that health care conundrum behind the bar. The guild, which is organized by the SCAA and boasts more than 800 members, teamed up with a health care "partner" called Association Health Programs. AHP is a Kansas-based company that specializes in bringing relatively affordable coverage to members of business associations and trade groups—it's the same company, in fact, that offers health care options to members of the SCAA itself. How exactly does the program work? The process is a little confusing (not surprisingly, considering the topic), but here are the basics: • First of all, coffee professionals should understand that AHP isn't a health care provider itself. The company serves as an organizing middleman to help members of the BGA or SCAA find viable health care plans in whatever state they happen to reside. The BGA and SCAA have set up contracts with AHP that allow members to contact AHP customer-service reps, and those 18 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com reps then work with inquiring members to find suitable coverage with actual providers. • According to Mansi Chokshi, membership manager for the SCAA, the number of different health plans available to coffee professionals will vary by state. She says that New York, for example, has laws that restrict companies like AHP from contracting with health providers. Other areas are more lenient. "In California, it's a completely different ballgame," says Chokshi. • Individuals interested in learning what options are available to them should start by contacting the SCAA at membership@ scaa.org. The organization will then verify that individuals are SCAA or BGA members (the service is open only to members as part of their overall membership benefits package) and put them in touch with AHP reps who can answer questions and search for different provider and program options. • Connecting with AHP is free for SCAA and BGA members, but the health care itself will still cost you. If members are able to find coverage plans that suit their needs, they will enter into a standard contract with an insurance provider in their area, pay- ing monthly premiums determined by the deductibles and other specifics of the plan they choose. AHP did not respond to requests from Fresh Cup about what an average barista in good health should expect to pay in monthly premiums, but Chokshi says that AHP can in many cases offer plans to members at lower costs than those they would find if they went hunting for health care on their own. "They have proven savings to report for their clients, and that was of course a top priority we had when exploring for the barista community," she says. • Though the SCAA and BGA have focused mainly on promoting continued on page 20 NICOLE O'BANION NICOLE O'BANION