ICUBA

What ICUBA does

ICUBA (Independent Colleges and Universities Benefits Association, Inc.) is a Florida-based nonprofit operating as a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) and Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA). Founded in 2002, the organization functions as a health care cooperative that pools the purchasing power of nonprofit, private Florida education employers — including universities, colleges, and K-12 private schools affiliated with the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) or Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS) — to deliver self-funded health and welfare benefits. As of current operations, ICUBA covers more than 15,000 members across 23 employer institutions within the State of Florida, with a 22-year operating track record.

The core product consists of two self-funded medical plans (Preferred PPO and High-Deductible PPO) administered through BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, augmented by an integrated voluntary benefit stack including Delta Dental, EyeMed vision, Symetra and CHUBB life and disability, Aflac supplemental coverage, LegalShield, Hinge Health musculoskeletal therapy, Lantern Surgery Care, and an Aetna Employee Assistance Program. Financial benefits (HRA/FSA) are administered by Ameriflex, wellness engagement is delivered through Personify Health, and provider quality navigation is provided by Embold Health. The entire benefits experience runs through a bswift-powered portal at icubabenefits.org, with Lockton Companies acting as benefits consultant and broker.

Revenue is generated through member contributions that fund the self-funded health plan, with schools sharing insurance costs proportionally across the cooperative pool. ICUBA's go-to-market combines direct sales outreach to prospective Florida private education employers with a community-led collaborative governance model in which member institutions participate in monthly advisory committee meetings, regional meetings, and collective plan-design decisions. The organization's value proposition centers on delivering 'big employer' quality benefits at small-employer pricing, isolating members from annual premium-rate volatility and avoiding insurance carrier margins, premium taxes, and broker commissions through cooperative self-funding.

Name

ICUBA

Legal name

Independent Colleges and Universities Benefits Association, Inc.

Website

https://icuba.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICUBA is a Florida-based nonprofit MEWA health care cooperative, founded in 2002, that pools purchasing power across 23 nonprofit private education employers to deliver self-funded medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and voluntary benefits to 15,000+ members in Florida.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health and Welfare Benefits Administration

NAICS

Health and Welfare Funds (525120), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251), Other Insurance Funds (525190)

SIC

Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Funded (ERISA) Employer Plans (HLAEAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association & PEO Group Health Plans (AHP/PEO-Sponsored) (FSAIAFAH), Association/MEWA POS Plans (HLAEAOAK), Flexible Benefits Administration (FSA/HSA/HRA) (HLAEALAK), Disability & Leave Administration (STD/LTD/FMLA/Paid Leave) (HLAEALAM)

Keywords

• Health benefits cooperative
• Self-funded health plans
• Employee benefits administration
• Multiple employer welfare arrangement
• Education employer benefits

Headquarters

HQ city

Flushing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Contributions / Self-Funded Health Plan Premiums: ICUBA generates revenue through member contributions that fund the self-funded health benefit plan. As a MEWA, all schools in the plan share insurance costs proportionally. The organization reduces costs by avoiding premium taxes and high margins charged by traditional insurance carriers. Revenue comes from employer and employee contributions for medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, life, disability, and voluntary benefits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ICUBA operates as a nonprofit Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) and Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) functioning as a health care cooperative. It pools the purchasing power of nonprofit private Florida education employers (colleges, universities, and private K-12 schools) to deliver self-funded group health and wellbeing benefits including medical (Preferred PPO and High Deductible PPO plans through BlueCross BlueShield), pharmacy, dental, vision, life, disability, voluntary, and wellness benefits, accessed via the bswift benefits administration platform at icubabenefits.org.

Product overview

ICUBA operates as a nonprofit Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) providing health and welfare benefits to private Florida education employees. The core product consists of two medical insurance plans (Preferred PPO Plan and High Deductible PPO Plan) administered through BlueCross BlueShield of Florida, supplemented by voluntary benefit modules including dental (Delta Dental), vision (EyeMed), life and disability (Symetra, CHUBB), and legal/identity theft protection (LegalShield). Additional health benefits include Hinge Health musculoskeletal therapy, Lantern Surgery Care for elective procedures, an Employee Assistance Program (Aetna), and the ICUBAcares Pharmacist Advocate Program. Financial benefits are delivered through Health Reimbursement Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts administered by Ameriflex via the bswift platform, while wellness engagement is supported by Personify Health. All benefits are accessible through the bswift-powered benefits administration portal at icubabenefits.org.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Preferred PPO Plan

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000+ members served from 23 employers across Florida
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and standard.

• Employer Direct HealthcarecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 February 2019Employer Direct Healthcare announced expansion of ICUBA's member healthcare coverage for the 2019 benefits plan year through partnership with SurgeryPlus (now Lantern Surgery Care), a supplemental benefit for non-emergent surgeries providing concierge-quality healthcare at substantial savings.
• BlueCross BlueShield of FloridacoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with BlueCross BlueShield of Florida to provide medical insurance and prescription pharmacy benefits. BCBS administers claims for ICUBA's self-funded insurance plan and provides members with access to Total Care providers, Embold preferred providers, specialists, Essential Advocate, CareConnected, and Strive powered by Virgin Pulse for health and wellbeing engagement.
• Aetna Resources for LivingcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Aetna Resources for Living to provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The EAP is a confidential resource helping members deal with family problems, stress-related issues, depression, eating disorders, work problems, financial crises and more. All benefit-eligible employees and household members receive six free counseling sessions per issue per plan year at no cost.
• Lantern Surgery Care (formerly SurgeryPlus)coreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Lantern Surgery Care, a supplemental benefit for non-emergent surgeries providing a concierge-quality healthcare experience at substantial savings. The partnership began in February 2019 through Employer Direct Healthcare. Members access an elite network of board-certified Surgeons of Excellence with personal Care Advocates handling every aspect of their surgical experience.
• Embold HealthcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Embold Health to provide access to thoroughly evaluated high-performing primary care providers and specialists. Embold providers are evaluated based on appropriateness of care, effectiveness and cost. Available for Primary Care, Pediatrics, Dermatology, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Joint Care, Gastroenterology, Obstetrics, Pulmonology, Spine Care, and Dermatology. Visits to Embold preferred providers are free for ICUBA members.
• Personify HealthcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Personify Health to provide a digital health engagement experience for employee health and wellbeing. Personify Health delivers tools and resources to help employees achieve optimal health levels while incentivizing healthy activities. The platform represents ICUBA's commitment to providing best-in-class wellness tools annually reviewed and updated.
• Hinge HealthcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Hinge Health to provide at-home therapy solutions for back, knee, shoulder, hip, and neck pain. The program includes exercise therapy tailored to members' conditions and a personal care team of experts. Services are 100% covered by ICUBA for eligible members at no cost to the employee.
• AmeriflexcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Ameriflex to administer Health Reimbursement Accounts/Arrangements (HRA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (healthcare and dependent care). Ameriflex provides the ICUBA Benefits MasterCard for easy access to HRA/FSA funds and administers COBRA and retirement benefit offerings, ensuring timely retirement packages and COBRA notices.
• EyeMedstandardTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with EyeMed to provide two voluntary vision plans offering routine eye exams for a low $5 copay with lenses or contact lenses every 12 months. The Base Plan allows frames every 24 months with $130 allowance; the Buy-up Plan allows frames every 12 months with $150 allowance.
• Delta DentalcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Delta Dental to provide dental coverage through three fully-insured dental plans. Delta Dental offers a Dental Health Maintenance Organization (DHMO) through Dental Care USA Network and Delta Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans to meet various member needs.
• SymetracoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Symetra to provide comprehensive life, disability and FMLA benefits including Basic Life, Voluntary Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability and Family Medical Leave Administration.
• CHUBBstandardTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with CHUBB to provide lifetime life insurance benefit with long-term care rider. The unique benefit provides life insurance with option to access 4% of death benefits per month for up to 25 years for long-term care, including restoration provision if depleted. Premiums are guaranteed to age 100.
• AflacstandardTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with Aflac to provide voluntary group benefit plans including Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Accident insurance. These group benefits provide richer plans at more affordable premiums and help offset deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums and expenses not covered by health insurance.
• LegalShieldstandardTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with LegalShield to provide access to comprehensive and affordable legal protection for members and families. Plan offerings cover common personal legal needs including family, home, financial, estate planning, auto and general matters. Coverage extends to member, spouse, dependent children up to age 26, and disabled dependent children.
• bstcoreTechnology or IntegrationICUBA partners with bswift to power the benefits administration platform at icubabenefits.org. The innovative, highly configurable software delivers a customizable, user-friendly benefits platform providing the best user experience for members and participants.
• Lockton CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICUBA partners with Lockton Companies as benefits consultant and broker to ensure best, most competitive rates and partners are selected for members. Lockton monitors the market to ensure all coverages including Medical, Prescription, Reinsurance, and voluntary benefits remain competitive while advocating for all ICUBA members.
• ICUBAcarescoreOthersICUBAcares is ICUBA's own Pharmacist Advocate Program serving as a liaison between doctors, pharmacies, and insurance companies. The program helps members navigate prescription drug plan questions, side effects, drug interactions, prior authorization, and tiered plan design. This is an internal program representing ICUBA's commitment to member support.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• HUB International: Large North American insurance brokerage with substantial education and nonprofit practice. Comparable as another broad incumbent brokerage alternative to ICUBA's pooled cooperative model.
• Brown & Brown, Inc. U.S. insurance brokerage with significant Florida presence and an active education segment. Comparable as a regional incumbent competing for the same private education benefits budget ICUBA targets.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Global insurance brokerage and risk management firm with a dedicated education practice. Represents the broad incumbent brokerage alternative that private Florida schools could use instead of joining ICUBA's cooperative.
• BlueCross BlueShield of Florida (Florida Blue): Florida's largest health insurer and ICUBA's claims and pharmacy partner. While ICUBA is self-funded, BCBS represents the broad incumbent full-portfolio health and welfare offering that ICUBA competes against and partners with.
• OneDigital: U.S. benefits and insurance advisory firm actively consolidating in education and nonprofit segments. Comparable as a multi-state benefits advisor competing for similar institutional clients.
• Marsh McLennan (Mercer): Global professional services firm with a Mercer benefits consulting arm. Comparable as a broad incumbent employer benefits advisor competing with ICUBA's cooperative model for education sector clients.

Others

• bswift: Benefits administration platform provider and ICUBA's core technology partner powering icubabenefits.org. Comparable as the underlying infrastructure layer for employer benefit delivery used by many analogous association and cooperative plans.
• Lockton Companies: Independent global insurance brokerage and ICUBA's benefits consultant. Comparable because it sits in the same advisory channel education employers evaluate against ICUBA's in-house cooperative model.

Emerging players

• Benefitfocus: Benefits administration technology provider serving employers and insurers. Comparable as an emerging player in the admin-tech stack that could compete for similar employer relationships ICUBA targets.

Direct peers

• Edhealth: Pennsylvania-based nonprofit employer health coalition serving independent higher education institutions. Runs essentially the same MEWA-style pooled health benefits model as ICUBA for private colleges and universities in a single state.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/icuba

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ICUBA