Which description best defines affiliate certificate?

• A. A certificate to self-insure issued to a private, public, or group that has common ownership to another self-insure holding a master certificate.
• B. A certificate that verifies provider credentials.
• C. A certificate required to contract with medical groups.
• D. A certificate used to transfer risk to reinsurers.

Answer: (A)

In a self-insured program, an affiliate certificate is the document that lets a related entity with common ownership participate in a single master self-insured plan. The master certificate is held by the primary group, and the affiliate certificate is issued to the subsidiary or affiliated group to bring them under that same self-insured arrangement. This structure aligns the affiliate with the master plan’s funding, risk management, and coverage terms, while still recognizing the affiliate as a separate entity within the larger program.

This isn’t about verifying provider credentials, contracting with medical groups, or transferring risk to reinsurers. Those functions relate to credentialing, provider agreements, or reinsurance arrangements, not to affiliating entities under a master self-insurance certificate.