Independent Health

Legal name: Independent Health Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161080163
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone
(716) 505-8515
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health - General and Rehabilitative N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,732,719,902
Expenses
$1,747,815,329
Assets
$776,718,863
Liabilities
$351,262,992

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

45 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL W CROPP MD (PRESIDENT (END 02/24) & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL W CROPP MD (PRESIDENT (END 02/24) & CEO): $2,491,986 total reported compensation
  • JOHN REID RODGERS (EVP-CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $1,953,240 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA C CLABEAUX (EVP-CHIEF HR OFFICER): $1,275,796 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Provides health-related products and services that enable affordable access to quality health care. Good health and wellness takes a year-round, coordinated effort. Independent Health brings it all together. We work to provide the resources and value-added benefits needed to help keep everyone healthy, informed and engaged. At Home Healthy encouragement, support and access to your benefits are right at your fingertips with our MyIH app, along with programs and many apps. Healthy encouragement, support and access to your benefits are right at your fingertips with our MyIH app, along with programs and many apps. Get Connected At Work.

What it reported doing in 2024

Independent health association (iha) coordinates the delivery of quality health care coverage through contracts with the individual practice association of western New York (ipawny), a taxable non-profit, for its commercial and medicare hmo products within the eight counties of western New York (wny). Iha also provides coverage and coordinates services to its medicaid hmo product (which includes traditional medicaid (ma) offerings, the child health plus (chp) program, as well as the essential plan (effective january 1, 2016), and the health and recovery plan (harp) (effective july 1, 2016) for the arrangement of physician, hospital, medically necessary health services, diagnostic and preventive health services to the communities located in erie and niagara county. (see sch o for additional detail).

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Member-benefit provider. The nonprofit used 96% of its reported program spending for member benefits.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.5%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 93% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2.5M · 45 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2B reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 74 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 33 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.