USARFU board considering another dues hike

Dues could go up again following today's USARFU board meeting, as a result of insurance claims that continue to outstrip the union's medical policy.

Chief executive Nigel Melville last week pitched another $10 increase as one of three options for the growingly expensive program, in a memo circulated to the union's congress. The 27-person body, whose archaic structure excludes formal representation of college or school-age rugby, must approve any dues hike. The prospect was first reported by This is American Rugby.

After a year of aggressively marketing voluntary coverage, Boulder in 2011 converted insurance to a component of its mandatory Club and Individual Participation Program (CIPP) membership package. A corresponding $10 across-the-board price rise initially exceeded the cost of USARFU's medical premium by approximately 35 percent, but last year the surplus was entirely absorbed, deductibles were increased, and further Boulder was forced to add a coinsurance clause limiting carrier payouts.

Although the national office actively lobbied American rugby players in an effort to sway the congress, the program has remained controversial because the premium costs approximately 10% percent of the union's revenue, while mainly acting as secondary coverage.

The cost of the USARFU's premium for the 2013-14 season could top $1 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The union reported 2011 revenue of $7.5 million, though 2012's not-yet-published total could have exceeded $10 million. In both years, dues comprised more than 40 percent of the union's intake.

Increasing dues again could enable the union to match 2011-12's deductibles: $1,000 for those with primary insurance and $2,500 for those without. But the policy would not cover out-of-pocket expenses from primary insurance, as it originally did. Additionally, the union would retain the '80/20 coinsurance' provision added in 2012-13, meaning the registrants would pay 20 percent of covered costs after the deductible has been met.

Claims look to have decreased this year, though the total won't be known for some time as the policy covers treatment up to one year after the date of injury, meaning any accidents sustained this month could be paid out through August 2014.

Melville's stated alternates to increasing dues are to raise the deductibles of the current policy, or to drop the program, thereby enabling players to keep hold of approximately $1.2 million. The union could also restore insurance to a voluntary basis.

The decision takes place as the federal government's Affordable Care Act is slated to come online in January 2014, 6 months from now. The Obama administration initiative requires individuals who are not insured by an employer or public insurance program to purchase an individual policy, or pay a fine.

Adding insurance was touted as attracting tens of thousands more players to rugby, helping USARFU toward its goal of 136,000 registrants by the end of 2012. But approximately 90 percent of accident claims are by players with primary coverage, and the union claimed just 115,000 members are the end of last year, suggesting the program has not lured new athletes.

While many other sports bodies offer insurance, another, less well-advertised reason for mandatory insurance is mitigating liability claims against USARFU, the union acknowledged in a 2011 circular.

It's likely that dues payers overlook the marginal costs of the organization's medical and liability policies, but dues are a different matter. Raising them could cause some backlash.

Separately, the board may discuss the upcoming departure of chief marketing Pam Kosanke and director Matt Hawkins, who has been named coach of the 7s national team, and hear a report on the recent 7s World Cup in Russia, which was a commercial flop. The union has stated its intention to bid on the 2018 event.

Related: Medical plan's dues hike runs into spending worries

Comments

[Disaster]

Disaster if Hawkins is a player coach. No way he can remain objective when he's on the field making same mistakes he's preaching about. Hard enough to build player trust from coaching role.

[Dirty Harry]

There are many teams considering not paying Cipp Dues already. Just try it Nigel, make my day...

[lotsa continuity talk]

Big mistake if Hawkins lets go of Katoa. Every club has a tireless worker who does much, if not all, of the behind the scenes "thankless" work. He's also a great support system for all of the poly boys on the team.

[Rugby Sage]

Hawkins is going to be a bigger mistake than Tolkin. Both are over their skis.

http://s21.postimg.org/shg8i2edj/tolkin.jpg

[Deal with it]

Sevens RWC in US will be a flop if run by USA Rugby and could bankrupt the organization if the misadventure into insurance underwriting doesn't kill it first. Only USA Sevens and other indepently owned and operated entrepreneurial rugby operations can run a successful RWC in the US. (Or any other rugby event)

[Deng]

Hawkins is way out of his depth and USAR is in a death spiral.

[RKPeatross]

What's all this about a new 15 competition out west?

[Hugh Jorgan]

Waaaahhhhhh! Waaaaahhhh!

Gainline comments are worse than YouTube comments.

[Alexander Hamilton]

The facts as I understand them are that there was a planned surplus in year 1 with the initial $10 increase in player enrollment fees. That surplus was something like $3 to $4 and it was agreed that the surplus would be held in escrow against future premium hikes to thereby lessen the impact on the membership. At least from what I understood that was the promise made to congress anyway.

If that is accurate then it seems there was a mismanagement and/or misappropriation of funds of something like $400,000. Assuming these facts are accurate, that gets you fired any place other than USA Rugby.

[ship of fools]

I couldn't care less which 7's coach is appointed by this USAr administration. When we don't qualify for the Olympic Games the poor fellow will wear it for the rest of his life, while the real F-ups Melville and Roberts who messed the Olympic bed far before the poor fellow's appointment will ride off into the sunset.

What I do care about is another dues increase which goes to pay for a bunch of worthless employees which do very little to benefit US rugby. We should also be pissed off with the USAr Obamacare insurance plan. 80-90% of the claims are from people who already have insurance. They are forced through their affiliation and membership with USAr to purchase insurance again. That's paying twice for the margin benefit of a secondary policy with a $2500 deductible and a co-pay. This forced USAr policy helps the primary insurer more than the injured rugby player.

The best excuse college teams would have to not pay dues is the requirement to purchase something they don't need. The school officials will certainly understand this as a reason to forgo an affiliation with USAr.

Turns out the insurance program just gets more expensive and provides less coverage as well. It appears the real reason we have it is to provide more liability coverage for the Board and CEO. Well isn't that nice. Tens of thousands made to buy something they don't need in order to provide less liability for this worthless CEO and Chairman.

Additionally, we were told just sallow down the insurance program because it would help grow the game. This also turn out to be a lie, its hasn't propelled membership growth, it has hurt our grow.

[OMG]

CIPP is a rip off. How long will we allow USA Rugby to carry on in such a fashion?

[Deng]

It just needs someone with a pair of balls to get it organized. Once teams stop paying Cipp Dues, the whole house of cards will come falling down.

[shut up and play!]

Before clubs stop paying dues, they need to figure out how to consistently and adequately insure the club and it's members, how to fund and peacefully run their own local union and referee society, and adequately train and certify their own referees and coaches. This can be done, but it's painful. Easier and cheaper to bribe your USAR congress-member to call a vote of no-confidence in the Chairman and CEO. Or, just blow up their email inbox and voxmail with messages stating that's what you want...

[rugbycoach]

If you want to see players stop paying CIPP just keep your eye on the independent college conferences this fall.

They will be the first dominoes to fall in the rush to get out the door of USAR.

[Deng]

Shut up and play
Nasty Nige has shown he's made of Teflon. Cipp will be paid after he's gone - but Cipp is the key to get rid of him not puppet Congress members or emails.

Rugby Coach
I'm afraid they havn't got their $h1t together yet - but you are right when you say its them that can start the rush.

[GET A JOB]

@ HUGH JORGAN

"Gainline's comments are worse than You Tube comments"

And, yet, here YOU are at Gainline

As Phil Rizzuto would say, "How about that!"

[Uber Ruggers]

@ elisynt

Ya What He Said!

[Army Rugger]

Dear Nigel Melville,

Your boorish British antics and piss poor performance has begun to extremely annoy me much like Lord Cornwallis...I triple dog dare you to raise the CIPP rates again so you and your traitorous sycophants can continue to suckle at the teat of American Rugby...watch what happens...your Yorktown is coming...

[HA!]

That Tolkin photo is hilarious and true.

[Joe Lippert]

please, please...don't pay the cipp ripoff. Rebel...hard. We don't need these pricks to rug. Nigel Melville has farty pants. Make it hot.

[Elmer Gardt]

Monies could be reallocated in the budget to cover the insurance. Instead of a percentage of CIPP going to the national teams, the monies could be stripped from that program and diverted to covering insurance. Such an action would affect more individuals versus the number of people being affected by monies that are going to the national teams. ]

[Missing when we played the game for fun.]

Elmer - you need to re-read the aticle. That insurance policy is a pile of money that is just going down the drain. Every single college kid has to have insurance when they start school - their own or buy what the school offers. So what that 50% of the total USA Rugby membership. Their benefit of this is ZERO. Now out of the 50% that is left - how many of them actually have no insurance at all? Does anybody even know? Has anyone bothered to find out? I'll throw out a number - 150. Now somebody disprove it. So all that money is being paid to provide insurance for 150 people. Insanity. And hate it or love it, when Obamacare kicks in Jan 1 - why would anyone then be forced to pay for someone elses insurance twice - through their taxes AND through their CIPP dues. It is time to drop the CIPP health care tax.

[Graham Henry's Fathead likeness]

You could photoshop any of the greatest coaches of all time on that pic and it would still be fitting. No single coach can bring the USA to the respectable level we all want it to be. I don't think even JC could do it in the current professional era.

[TomC]

@Graham

Tokin is on pace to be the worst Eagles coach in history with a win percentage below 25 percent. That's what makes the photo prescient.

[TomC's math is so bad he can't add up a futbol score]

@TomC
Are you suggesting that the Eagles are going to LOSE the next seven international tests they play? All in a row? Are you daft, man?

To have a worse record than Scott Johnson, Tolkin's Eagles would have to drop the next two to Canada, then two to Uruguay (which would DQ them from the RWC), then the Maori ABs, then possibly Russia and Canada again. Perhaps they'll lose 3 of those matches, but not all seven.

When it comes to stats and analysis, you sir, are over your skis. Stick to trolling though, you're brilliant at that!

[TomC]

Scott Johnson was 1-5 (17%)
Duncan Kelm was 3-9 (25%)
Tolkin is 3-8 (27%)

"on pace to be"

[TomC's math is so bad he can't add up a futbol score]

@TomC
Your math is so bad you gotta get somebody else to do it for you and you STILL get it wrong!

By stating "on pace to be", you are suggesting that IF Tolkin loses 5 more games he will be worse than Scott Johnson. He has to lose 7 straight games to do that. So if he loses another 5, he'll only be worse than Kelm, not on pace to be the worse.

While you're sitting in your granny's basement, learn some basic division, learn to form a solid argument, and quit talking about a sport you know nothing about.

[Craig]

I always find some great humor when I visit this very serious blog!

[The Hard Truth]

Nigel and Roberts are there to protect the IRB's interest in the US market as it grows. The last thing the IRB wants is Americans running their own show. Nigel is here because the game is growing and the IRB wants one of their own watching the register. They need to be run out of town.

[TomC]

Who said "on pace to be" is 5 more games?

Only you.

Intelligent people would deduct that "on pace to be" would mean on the conclusion of his term as head coach since we are comparing his record with past head coaches.

[TomC]

NOTE:

All you Tolkin fanboys should get ready for the chorus of s#!t coming from Eagles fans as the team lose two to Canada and struggles to qualify for the 2015 RWC before getting humiliated by the Maori boys in Philly.

[Diaper Dan]

You two are debating if Tolkin's coaching career with the Eagles is a wet fart or a full on dump in the drawers. Either way he is not doing a good enough job regardless of the numbers.

[shut up and play!]

@Dan
It's definitely got the smell of some trouser chili at the moment, close but not making the mark. It may not be as bad as Mudboy makes it, but it needs to improve quick, now, and in a hurry.

I don't put this spring's 0-5 record on Tolks so much as on USAR's Director of High Performance. That funny-talking stick-in-the-mud needs to focus on making money off something other than dues. We missed out on about 8 possible Eagles this year because USAR doesn't contract and properly pay it's National Team. Imagine the possibilities if it would do something smart like that.

[Huh?]

What 8 players are you talking about?

[#firetheceo]

Interesting that the USAr chief marketing officer departed taking shots at Melville. Said she was lied to, that Melville went back on his promises. Good story on weareamericanrugby.

[college]

that site doesnt even exist anymore. rip brian lowe

[Diaper Dan]

Brian Lowe died?

[The Hard Truth]

How old was he ?

[click to read]

Suffer from kidney disease? aussie naturopath tells all - how hos patients avoid dialysis
click to read https://twitter.com/soniaw17/status/353268126143623168

[I'm sure he's not actually dead though.]

That's some timely spam!

[The Hard Truth]

Let us all agree to a boycott of all USA Rugby purchases.

[mailerkl]

Es kommt mir nicht heran. Kann, es gibt noch die Varianten?
mailerkl bb4arg48

[rugbycoach]

Back to the topic.....

Any word on the dues structure or insurance issue??

Seems funny that all's quiet from Boulder when the new registration cycle is supposed to begin in three days.

One would think that this would all be in place by now.

The silence has me worried.

[rugbycoach]

Here's some speculation.

The announcement is made at 5 PM Mountain on Friday the 15th after the east coast has gone to Charleston for the weekend and won't get the news until after the test match on Saturday.

[Mudboy can't play rugby cuz he doesn't know the game!]

Both AIG & The Hartford have been to Boulder to offer to BUY the insurance business from USAR and sell/administer the insurance side of things for Boulder. This is the "4th option" that Nigel did not want people talking about in his letter. It gets USA Rugby completely OUT of the insurance business that they never should have ventured into in the first place. It may be a bit more of a minor headache for everyone to administer (proof of insurance, paperwork, etc), but it puts the insurance side of rugby into the hands of the capable and competent (the insurance professionals) AND allows USA Rugby to concentrate on producing High Performance rugby at every level so that they will have a product to sell to the US sports fan. It would be much easier to hold Nigel & Kevin accountable if this happens.