Tulsa Chamber offers 'Chamber Choice' for area businesses

Many people agree that small business is the heart of the American economy. One of the great dangers to that heart is the high cost of health insurance for small business employees. <br><br>News on 6

Tuesday, February 17th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Many people agree that small business is the heart of the American economy. One of the great dangers to that heart is the high cost of health insurance for small business employees.

News on 6 consumer reporter Rick Wells tells us about a new plan to offer small business more affordable coverage.

Acura Neon makes signs for all kinds of businesses. They have 32 employees, and like most small businesses they're struggling to provide health insurance for employees and their families.

Mir Khezri: "Weâ€™ve been in business since '88 for years and years we couldn't afford it." Then he says in the mid 90's they decided to offer health insurance as a company for a couple of reasons.

To attract and keep better workers and for themselves, as business owners they didn't have it either. Early on it was affordable. Khezri: "Every year that price increased to where this year my family will have to pay about $750 a month in health care for my family."

The company pays 50% of the employee's coverage, none for the family. So coverage beyond themselves has gone from affordable to unaffordable again for many employees.

Enter the Tulsa Chamber of commerce and Blue Cross Blue Shield with a program called Chamber Choice. Glen Mulready: "Some companies will be saving maybe 15% to 20% off what they are." The plan pools small business chamber members into a larger group, so they can get the same insurance rate advantage of larger companies.

Mulready: "We think it's a good affordable option for many of the small businesses that have struggled with that." A similar program has been working in Oklahoma City for a couple of years; many of the companies participating offered no coverage before this plan came along.

Rick Wells says the program eligibility is limited to more than 29,000 small businesses in nine counties adjacent to Tulsa County.

If you need more information about this plan click on Chamber Choice.