OKLAHOMA CITY — Small businesses in Oklahoma can enroll in a new health care option offered by the Oklahoma State Chamber.
ChamberCare is currently accepting applications from small businesses headquartered in Oklahoma. This option is available to employers who are members of a state chamber or a participating local chamber and have between two and 50 employees.
“A large portion of the state is small businesses, and one of the things small businesses struggle with is finding ways to pay for the ever-increasing insurance premiums across the board,” said Carla, Chief Operating Officer of the Chamber of Commerce.・Mr. Scheperketter said. “So we just wanted to find an alternative to what currently exists in the Oklahoma market for small businesses…so we looked at what other state chambers around the country have done and have had success with over the past 10 years. I was able to use what I have learned as a model.” ”
He said the state Legislature would implement ChamberCare on its own.
“People appreciate the opportunity to be cited for what might be a better alternative for them,” Schaperketter said. “So we’re definitely seeing a lot of interest from our members as well as local chamber members.”
The program was officially approved in August and began the quotation process for businesses in September. The process takes three to four days and is handled by a broker, Schaeperketter said.
ChamberCare offers medical insurance as part of the Aetna network, but not dental or vision. She said the medical option is self-funded, so payments are made as a “large sum” of money that goes toward paying insurance claims.
“A lot of large companies have self-funded health insurance plans, so they invest a lot of money and pay the claims themselves,” Schaperketter said. “If they’re members of our participating local chambers or state chambers, they can all pay together into this plan. It’s like if they all combined their small businesses and , it’s like building one big business.”
Employer costs vary from company to company depending on the results of health surveys completed by employees. Schaperketter said the state Legislature hopes to enroll people in the plan soon so it can provide data on costs.
Chad Warmington, president and CEO of the Oklahoma State Chamber, said in a statement that he hopes ChamberCare will provide small businesses with a way to deal with rising operating costs. .
