Public Education Health Trust

Name

Public Education Health Trust

Legal name

Public Education Health Trust

Website

https://pehtak.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Public Education Health Trust is a non-profit, self-funded health trust founded in 1996 that provides pooled health benefits to Alaska public school district employees and their families, serving 19+ member districts across multiple plan tiers including a Medicare-based Open Access plan launching July 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Benefits Administration

NAICS

Health and Welfare Funds (525120), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251), Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292)

SIC

Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & PEO Group Health Plans (AHP/PEO-Sponsored) (FSAIAFAH)

Keywords

• Self-funded health trust
• Health benefits administration
• Reference-based pricing
• Educator health plans
• Group medical insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Anchorage

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Self-Funded Health Plan Administration: PEHT is a self-funded health trust that administers health benefits for Alaska's public educators. The trust collects premiums from member school districts and associations and uses those funds to pay for medical claims, administrative fees to partners (EBMS, Rightway, VSP), and healthcare costs for members. Revenue comes from employer/employee premium contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Public Education Health Trust (PEHT) is a self-funded health benefits trust that administers medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, and employee assistance benefits for Alaska's public educators and their families. The trust contracts with school districts and educator associations to provide group health benefits, and is transitioning from traditional PPO network pricing to an Open Access reference-based pricing model (effective July 1, 2026) that uses Medicare reimbursement benchmarks rather than hospital chargemaster rates to reduce costs.

Product overview

Public Education Health Trust (PEHT) is a self-funded health benefits trust serving Alaska's public educators and their families. The organization offers a unified health benefits platform with multiple medical plan tiers (Plan A through Plan G, HDHP options, and Legacy plans) and dental plan options tailored to individual school districts and associations. The core product is the upcoming Open Access Health Plan (effective July 1, 2026), which replaces traditional PPO network-based pricing with reference-based pricing using Medicare benchmarks. The portfolio includes: medical plans (Medical Plans A through G, HDHP variants, and Legacy plans for specific districts), dental plans (Plan A, Plan B, Plan B+, Plan V, and Legacy options), VSP vision benefits, the Member Assistance Program through SupportLinc, balance bill advocacy services, and a direct-contract provider network. PEHT administers these through partnerships with EBMS (claims and eligibility), Rightway (pharmacy), VSP (vision), and SupportLinc (employee assistance).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PEHT Open Access Health Plan A reference-based pricing health plan effective July 1, 2026 that determines fair prices for medical care using Medicare reimbursement rates or actual reported hospital costs as benchmarks, allowing members to see any provider that accepts the plan. Replaces traditional PPO network pricing and is designed to reduce healthcare spend by 15-30% for Alaska's public educators and their families.
• Traditional Medical Insurance Plans

Quantifiable outcome

• Self-funded plans using Open Access typically lower total healthcare spend by 15-30%
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EBMS (Employee Benefit Management Services)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEBMS serves as PEHT's plan administrator, handling claims processing, eligibility verification, ID card issuance, and member support. EBMS reviews claims for errors and overcharges, manages the balance bill advocacy process, and provides personal advocacy experts to resolve billing issues on members' behalf.
• RightwaycoreTechnology or IntegrationRightway manages pharmacy benefits for PEHT members, providing prescription management, formulary coverage checks, and pharmacy portal access.
• VSP (Vision Service Plan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVSP provides vision benefits administration with access to thousands of in-network optometrists and ophthalmologists across the United States. PEHT members can find in-network vision providers through the VSP directory.
• SupportLinccoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSupportLinc provides the Member Assistance Program offering confidential counseling, wellness support, and member assistance services for PEHT members.
• Imagine360minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImagine360 provides reference-based pricing education and expertise. PEHT references Imagine360 as a resource for understanding Open Access/randomized baseline pricing concepts. Sources cited include Imagine360, RAND Corporation (2022), Health Care Cost Institute, Mercer, PwC, and Kaiser Family Foundation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Teachers Health Trust (Las Vegas): Self-funded health trust serving Clark County Education Association educators in Nevada. Closely comparable to PEHT in its educator-targeted, self-funded multi-employer trust structure and benefits portfolio.
• Employee Benefit Management Services (EBMS): Third-party administrator handling claims, eligibility, and balance-bill advocacy for self-funded employer plans including PEHT. Directly comparable as a TPA operating the same self-funded administration model PEHT relies on.
• Imagine360: Specialist in reference-based pricing for self-funded employer health plans. Directly comparable to PEHT as both a strategic partner (cited for RBP education) and an operator running the same Medicare-multiplier pricing model for employer health trusts.
• Self-Insured Schools of California (SISC): Self-funded K-12 school health benefits pool serving hundreds of California school districts and community colleges. Directly comparable to PEHT in its multi-employer school-trust model, self-funded administration, and member-funded claim pool.
• SchoolCare: New York-based health benefit trust providing medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage to school district employees and their families. Directly comparable to PEHT as an education-focused, multi-district self-funded trust.
• Educators Mutual Insurance Association (EMI Health): Utah-based educator-founded health insurer serving teachers, school employees, and public-sector groups. Comparable to PEHT in its educator-centric customer base and employer-sponsored group health plan administration.

Broad incumbents

• CalPERS Health Benefits: Largest public-pension health purchaser in the U.S., offering group health plans to California public agency and school employees. Comparable to PEHT's self-funded, multi-employer pool serving educators, but at vastly larger scale and with broader carrier contracting.
• Washington State Health Care Authority (PEBB Program): State agency administering the Public Employees Benefits Board program, covering medical, dental, vision, and pharmacy for Washington public employees and dependents. Comparable to PEHT in its public-sector/education employee focus but at state-government scale and breadth.

Emerging players

• Rightway Healthcare: Pharmacy benefit manager providing prescription management and member navigation for employer health plans, including PEHT. Comparable as a PBM partner operating within PEHT's benefits stack and increasingly serving self-funded employer populations.

Regional players

• State Health Benefit Plan (Georgia SHBP): State-managed health plan for Georgia public employees, including public school and university employees. Comparable to PEHT in its public-sector employee focus and self-funded structure, but operating at state-government scale within a single southeastern U.S. market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pehtak

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 Public Education Health Trust