Member Benefits: Worth Revisiting

Dental Plan

The dental plan is a usual and customary plan, where benefits are paid for reasonable and customary charges subject to the terms of the plan. The program encourages the use of dental provider network Careington International, a managed dental care service organization consisting of 21,000-plus dental providers nationwide. However, members may use their own providers at an additional cost.

The discount dental plan is administered by Careington International. This is not an insurance plan but does provide discounted services. As of June 11, there are 2,847 participating dentists in the plan within New York state. Prospective members of the plan should visit the company’s website at www.careington.com and enter their zip code.

MicroMash CPA Review Course

MircoMash has been providing computer-based CPA exam review products for nearly 20 years and is owned by PassMatrix Learning Systems (PMLS), a company based out of Colorado. This program is offering Society members a significant discount for the tutorial of the four exam sections and a similar discount for any one part. In addition, MicroMash offers the Society the opportunity to award five free complete programs to members based on criteria that the Society will determine.

Senior Term Life Insurance

All members and/or their spouses between the ages 60 and 79 are eligible, and coverage is renewable to age 94. Marsh, the Society’s broker for many of its insurance programs, tailored this program for this age group.

Umbrella Coverage

Geico umbrella coverage has been available as an unendorsed option for Society members already insured under the automobile program; however, an official endorsement of the umbrella option strengthens the overall member benefit.

Hewlett-Packard Accounting Discount Program

This program currently is available to accountants and accounting clients and provides a 10 percent saving on direct purchases from HP.

Life Line Screening (LLS)

LLS is a mobile health screening service that helps make individuals aware of the existence of an undetected health problem, and helps facilitate follow-up care with their personal physician.

The entire package of programs offered to NYSSCPA members can be found online via the homepage at www.nysscpa.org. Look for the “Member Resources Department” on the lower right-hand side of the page. The Member Relations team is ready to take your calls about any of our programs. They can be reached at 800-342-3360.

As I conclude this column, I am also preparing to leave for the Society’s fourth Annual Leadership Conference, on Lake George. Held over three days, the conference is an excellent opportunity for all of the Society’s statewide and chapter board members and officers to get together and discuss the Society’s current direction and future priorities. During the conference, we’ll be participating in break-out sessions on committees and chapters, hearing from a number of speakers, holding meetings for the board of directors, the FAE Trustees and the Political Action Committee, and even learning how to handle questions from the media.

Our Society leaders all recognize that we are there for a very important purpose. This purpose, coincidentally, is not so unlike the member benefits program, which is intended to give you more bang for your Society buck. To that end, we will work diligently at the conference and throughout the year to make sure that the Society continues to help bring the most value to you as CPAs and to the accounting profession, while ensuring that we maintain the public’s trust.
I’ll let you know how the conference goes in my next column.