As time continues to tick toward full implementation of the Affordable Care Act next year, one association is taking advantage of its annual meeting to educate its members on what the law will mean for their business.

At the National Restaurant Association’s  Healthcare Knowledge Center at the NRA Show 2013 in May, attendees will have the chance to set up appointments to meet face-to-face with independent, restaurant-focused healthcare consultants.

“The impending implementation of the healthcare law is raising a lot of questions,” said Jeffrey W. Davis, convention chair for NRA Show 2013 and CEO of the United States Beef Corporation, in a statement. “Whether you’re an owner-operator, a franchisee, or a human resources executive at a chain restaurant, you need to understand how it applies to your operation and how to prepare for it.”

In addition to the knowledge center, the meeting will feature three healthcare-focused educational sessions. Each will be offered twice to allow more attendees the opportunity to get to all three. The sessions will “provide both big-picture knowledge as well as concentrated overviews on the details, based on operation size,” according to the NRA statement.

“We have assembled a team of experts with more than 120 years of healthcare employee benefit experience to tackle those questions head-on for [attendees so they] can go home confident and ready to take care of [their] business and employees,” Davis said.

For members unable to attend, NRA has set up a website with ACA-related information.

The NRA effort is one of many that associations are making to prepare members for the ACA. Recently, the Self Storage Association announced a plan to create a private health insurance marketplace that will offer members access to major medical, dental, vision, and other health benefits that the ACA will require them to provide to employees.

What is your organization doing to help members prepare for ACA implementation? Share your story in the comments.

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