ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) is the national trade association for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractors. Member benefits flow through state and local chapters, and one of the most valuable programs is the Association Member Trust (AMT), a multi-association 501(c)(9) VEBA that pools member employers to purchase group health insurance. For HVAC contractors, AMT is one of the few true industry-specific health benefit options on the market.
AMT offers group medical, dental, and vision plans underwritten to the HVAC contractor risk pool. Because the trust aggregates hundreds of small HVAC employers, its plan designs and rates sit outside the ACA small-group community rating in participating states, similar to how a PEO pools small employers. For shops with healthy-skewing workforces or those in states where small-group rates have risen rapidly, AMT can produce notable savings and better network options. Plans are administered through the chapter (ACCA-NJ is the longest-running example; availability is expanding through other regional chapters).
Eligibility requires active ACCA membership through a chapter that participates in AMT. The trust is a good fit for HVAC contractors who want trade-specific underwriting, value peer benchmarking, and prefer a nonprofit trust governance structure over a for-profit PEO. The limitation is geographic: availability is strongest in the Northeast and expanding, so owners outside participating regions may need to look at PEOs or association-sponsored alternatives.