Closing the Health Insurance Gap: AmWINS Group Benefits Launches Limited Medical Plan for Uninsured and Underinsured Workers.

WARWICK, R.I. -- Designed to reduce the number of Americans with inadequate or non-existent health insurance, AmWINS Group Benefits, a leading distributor of wholesale retiree and employee health benefits and professional services, today launches the first affordable limited medical plan for low-wage workers. The new plan is called HealthWINS[TM].

HealthWINS[TM] provides basic health coverage for physician visits, prescription drugs, inpatient services and preventive care with an option to purchase catastrophic coverage. Plus, AmWINS Group Benefits includes a patient advocacy service to help workers negotiate better rates with hospitals.

The new limited medical plan is being marketed to brokers and benefit consultants whose clients include retailers, restaurants and other groups with large numbers of hourly workers covered by low benefit mini-medical plans and those who elect no coverage at all. HealthWINS[TM] is also an ideal option for early retirees and employer-based associations, which are also faced with the choice of partial or no healthcare.

"HealthWINS[TM] is a first line of health care defense for chain restaurants, big box stores and Mom & Pops," said Sam Fleet, AmWINS Group Benefits President & CEO. "For other types of employers, all that high deductible and Consumer Driven Health plans accomplish is the health care equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. By shifting costs from premium dollars to deductibles doesn't help workers get affordable health care."

HealthWINS[TM] is being introduced at a time when there are 47 million Americans with no coverage at all and when 50% of Americans spend a marginal amount, less than $1,000 per year, on medical expenses; 85% spends less than $5,000. Like their predecessor Major Medical Plans of the 1960s, AmWINS Group Benefits limited medical plan covers charges a comparably low deductible to cover a portion of the first $20,000 to $30,000 of health care expenses, so that a low-wage worker can adopt a wellness approach to health care that is unavailable in today's mini-medical plans.

HealthWINS[TM] also allows a worker to plan for the worst by offering a catastrophic coverage "wrap," that is similar to the Major Medical Excess plans that were prevalent in decades past.

Catastrophic coverage incorporates higher deductibles ($50,000 to $250,000) that are separate from deductibles for hospital days, prescriptions, and more. These can coordinate with the underlying limited medical plan and participants can pay varying amounts above the attachment point.

"Our aim with HealthWINS[TM] is simple: we want workers to have a health plan that offers real, preventive medical care with affordable deductibles, coverage for expensive emergencies and coupled with an advocacy program for members assistance," Fleet said.

About AmWINS Group Benefits

AmWINS Group Benefits is a leading wholesale broker of comprehensive group insurance programs and administrative services. Working with benefit brokers and consultants, AmWINS Group Benefits designs, distributes and administers customized health benefit products and services for retired and active populations in private and public organizations. Its parent company, AmWINS Group, is the largest independent insurance wholesaler in the United States. AmWINS Group Benefits is headquartered in Warwick, RI. More information about AmWINS Group Benefits is available at www.groupbenefits.amwins.com.