“It may be a cliché,” says Stu Weinstein, chair of the Group Insurance Trust Claims and Plan Design Committee, “but I have gotten a lot out of my relationship with CalCPA as member, and so serving as a trustee, and finding products and services that benefit members, is a great way to give  back.” To this he adds, “Its enjoyable to be associated with something as successful as the Group Insurance Trust has been.”

In addition to his spirit of service, Weinstein also embodies a broad range of professional experience that helps him understand the circumstances of different members. Having graduated with a degree in accounting from the University of California, Berkeley in the late 1960s, Weinstein started his career with a large regional accounting firm where he served until receiving his license. From there he moved to a consulting firm and then to a job as controller in McKesson Corporation’s International Division.

He comments that this experience was a unique opportunity

“to observe the  inside of a business from the client’s perspective, something that many CPAs don’t get a chance to do.”

He was fascinated to see how an enterprise is built, how people are responsible for the bottom line, and how they report to others. He was also engaged by the process of building appropriate controls. At the end of the day, however, he found the work repetitive, and he turned back to public accounting with renewed interest.

He joined his father, who had been working as a solo CPA, in forming Weinstein & Company, where he stayed until 1999. At that point he found himself ready for a more corporate structure and moved to Rooney, Ida, Nolt and Ahern, which had just opened a San Francisco office. He liked the fact that they had separate departments with specialties and that clients were shared.

This structure also meant that his clients had a place to stay as he transitioned into retirement during the years from 2005 to 2007. Currently he still provides occasional services as a consultant and also continues as a director of CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company.

As far as the GIT is concerned, however, he is very much engaged by the challenge of providing price competitive insurance services that most public sector members couldn’t get on their own.

“There is excitement,” he says, “in working on flexible plan designs that work well for small as well as large firms. The test is to create plans that people can afford while providing as many options  as possible.”

He is proud of the high level of service members receive and pleased at the broad geographic coverage provided by Anthem Blue Cross. The fact that the GIT’s only stakeholders are its member-employers makes it easier to achieve these goals.

As chair of the Claims and Plan Design Committee he is concerned with the marketing of the entire program as well as the details of its many plans, and he has advocated the addition of more marketing and sales options for ProtectPlus, including the use of a general agency and its associated brokers.

“This option allows us to reach more potential members than simply using the direct distribution option that has been used since the Trust was founded. In a profession with an aging population, one way to continue to keep costs down, is to reach out to more members so that our overhead  costs are shared over a broader base.”

For the future, he hopes to see more member firms enroll in ProtectPlus.

“Most firms who take the time to explore the GIT options find that it is a very competitive program, frequently better than what they have in place.”

1. On December 4, 1959, the California Society of CPAs creates a trust for the maintenance of group insurance programs serving employer members, employees, and dependents. Over the course of the next 38 years, the terms of this trust will be amended and restated several times.
2. Between 1980 and 1983 two committees administer CalCPA insurance benefits. In 1983 the two committees separate. The Members Insurance Plans Committee is charged with the formation of CAMICO, while the Administrative Committee of the Group Insurance Trust (ACGIT) is given oversight of CalCPA’s health and welfare plans.
3. In 1981, with healthcare premiums escalating rapidly, the medical plan is put out for bid and moved from Pacific Mutual to Blue Cross. Despite a two-year rate guarantee period, when the plan loses $2 million in the first year Blue Cross requests and is denied an 82 percent premium rate increase. Eventually the Trust and Blue Cross agree on a rate increase of more than 40 percent and the creation of a rate stabilization fund to temper future rate increases.
4. In 1984 the Trust moves from broker/administrator Rollins Burdick Hunter to Fred S. James. To better serve CalCPA members, Fred S. James opens a San Francisco office to oversee the day-to-day operation of the Trust account.
5. In 1992, sweeping state legislation eliminates unique, association-sponsored healthcare plans. Solo practitioners, who are not protected under the new law, are particularly vulnerable and in danger of losing coverage. In June 1994, the Trust negotiates with Blue Cross to guarantee that all existing covered firms, including solo practitioners, retain coverage, and CalCPA healthcare plans morph into Blue Cross off-the-shelf small group plans.
6. At its May 8, 1995 board meeting, the ACGIT reviews two studies it has commissioned from Towers Perrin and Deloitte & Touche. Both recommend that the Trust self-fund its own medical plans. Although conscious of the risk, the committee agrees to go forward. CalCPA, under the leadership of Executive Director Jim Kurtz and President Gale Case, is supportive.
7. Only a few months later, on September 30, 1995, the Trust files for a Certificate of (MEWA) Compliance and CalCPA’s Government Relation  division work tirelessly to push through enabling legislation. California Department of Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush advises the Trust to file as a MEWA and Trust staff and counsel undertake the massive task of compiling the MEWA application.
8. On March 10, 1997, after eighteen months of unrelenting effort by the trustees, staff, government relations division, and consultants, the GIT is awarded a Certificate of (MEWA) Compliance by the California Department of Insurance. The certificate allows the Trust to design plans, set premiums, and operate a healthcare program exclusively for CalCPA member-owned firms.
9. On April 26, 1997, CalCPA amends and restates the Trust agreement to create a Board of Trustees in accordance with ERISA guidelines. The Board of Trustees approves the final MEWA plan designs, and Trust staff launches marketing efforts.
10. The first four ProtectPlus copay plans open for business on July 1, 1997. By the end of July, 445 firms have enrolled with a total of 1,122 subscribers. By the end of the calendar year, plan participation has tripled.
11. Following an arduous application process, on May 16, 2008 the Trust receives the news that it is the first and only MEWA in the nation to be awarded an A.M. Best rating. The Trust receives a B++ rating—a significantly higher rating than expected for any first-time rating applicant, let alone a MEWA.
12. On June 25, 2009 the Trust celebrates its 50th anniversary and honors those who no longer serve but have contributed so much to the Trust’s success, including former trustees, CalCPA leadership, CalCPA and Trust staff members and consultants.