Insurance Plan Aims To Help Small Businesses

High health insurance premiums can be crippling to small businesses.  But the state's Insure Oklahoma plan can help.  News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports at the Pack N Mail Plus store in Owasso, they offer a little bit of everything.  Custom embroidering, gifts, packing materials, mailboxes and more.

But when they first started, what they didn't have was affordable health insurance.

"When we first started in business, it was very difficult, very unaffordable.  High premiums, very high deductibles," said owner Duane Coppick. 

The state's Insure Oklahoma plan, or Oklahoma Employer Sponsored Insurance, changed that.  The plan subsidizes health insurance costs for qualifying businesses with less than 50 employees.

"They have good benefits, have low co-pays, potentially very low deductibles and your premiums are very reasonable," said Coppick.

Coppick says in addition to several options for coverage, Insure Oklahoma also provides peace of mind.

"I've got my three children, my wife, my whole family, we can now have very good coverage for health care and I don't have to worry about that as a parent," said Coppick.

The program pays 60% or more of premiums.

Without the program, Coppick's cost for health insurance was about $1,000 a month, with a $3,000 deductible.  Now, with the program, his health insurance costs about $300 a month, with a $500 deductible.

That's an annual savings of more than $8,000, which is a lot for a small business.

For Coppick, besides the savings, it means fewer hassles and worry.

"I'm not worrying about those expenses and the savings can be applied to other areas where I can build my business," said Coppick.

You can get more information about Insure Oklahoma by contacting your agent or you can call Insure Oklahoma's hotline at 1-888-365-3742.