Hutchinson Chamber will offer health insurance plan, allowing small businesses lower rates – The Hutchinson News

Later this year, a new insurance plan, Chamber Blue, will become available to Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce members. Chamber Blue is an association health plan, allowing smaller businesses to access large-plan insurance prices.

The chamber plans to implement the statewide initiative for businesses with two or more employees to chamber members in the fall.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas partnered with more than 30 Kansas chambers of commerce and created an insurance plan for small businesses to utilize.

“Think of a large business being able to offer insurance to their employees — they have a big group of employees, which can potentially lower costs,” said Rebecca Witte, public relations specialist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas. “We are trying to create that same scenario for small businesses across the state.”

Access to a competitive insurance plan can draw new employees to the small businesses across Kansas and Reno County.

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Why health insurance is important to small businesses 

Teresa Wagner, the owner of Woodwork Manufacturing and Supply in Hutchinson, employs almost 40 people at her company and utilizes Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Although she does not plan to switch to Chamber Blue, she understands its importance when talking with other small businesses.

“It is a very big deal,” Wagner said. “To provide insurance to your family and go to the doctor and just have a $24 co-pay (if that is the rate Chamber Blue decides on), I mean, that’s huge.”

Wagner said insurance is a benefit that helps bring employees in the door.

“(Insurance) is one of the things everyone asks us when we’re hiring — one of the main questions is ‘what’s the benefits?’ — so that’s a huge draw for qualified employees,” Wagner said.

Large-group pricing typically applies to companies with 50 or more employees, so Debra Teufel, president and CEO of the chamber, said small businesses don’t have as much access to competitive insurance.

“We hope this will help provide a new rate structure for small businesses that have not been able to have the advantage of large-group pricing in the past,” Debra Teufel, president and CEO of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber, said.

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How the Kansas plan will be rolled out

Often, employers offer insurance to full-time employees, but with Chamber Blue, Witte said they plan on providing any employee with 30 or more hours per workweek a chance to sign up for insurance.

An association health plan allows smaller companies, freelancers or self-employed individuals to group into a shared health insurance plan to access large-group insurance rates.

The plan involves three stages. First, in August this year, the chamber will send an interest survey to its members that is mandatory to fill out to participate in Chamber Blue.

After the survey, the chamber plans to announce the rates based on the survey sent to members in September.

Finally, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the chamber will begin enrollment for interested chamber members in October.

“This is the first year we could offer this benefit, and we’re excited that it will be available to our members,” Teufel said.