State lawmakers recently heard how the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has worked successfully to lower health care costs for small businesses.
During a hearing before the Senate Interim Committee on Driving Down the Cost of Healthcare, Missouri Chamber Director of Legislative Affairs Heidi Geisbuhler Sutherland shared how the Chamber Benefit Plan came about.
“A common concern we hear from small businesses is that the cost of health care threatens their competitiveness,” Geisbuhler Sutherland said. “Employees want to work for businesses that offer good health care coverage, and the rising cost of health care can make it difficult for small businesses to offer competitive health coverage options.”
The Chamber Benefit Plan was created in 2017. The program allows small employers to band together with other small businesses in a multiple employer welfare arrangement model (also known as a MEWA) to offer quality health care coverage to their employees at a reasonable price.
“The Chamber Benefit Plan has expanded to nearly 4,000 covered groups and over 45,000 individuals over the course of just a few years,” Geisbuhler Sutherland said.
To be eligible to participate in the Chamber Benefit Plan, a business must have 2-50 employees. Businesses must also be domiciled in Missouri and be in good standing with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry or a local participating chamber of commerce.
Figures show employers who participate in the plan are very satisfied. In a 2022 survey, 80 percent of respondents said they saved at least 10 percent on health care coverage costs.
For more information about the Chamber Benefit Plan, click here.
