One of the biggest challenges small businesses
face is finding affordable health insurance, but the Corning Area Chamber of Commerce has a solution.
The chamber recently started to offer health insurance benefits to member businesses. Several members have signed on, but many more have not tapped into the new resource, said chamber President Denise Ackley.
The chamber did in-depth research into health insurance because members indicated that was a priority for them, Ackley said.
“We did a survey. Health insurance was the No. 1 issue,” she said. “Seventy-six percent of our businesses have 10 employees and under. Some businesses don’t have anything. Some would like to offer it to their employees but they can’t afford to do so. So we knew it was critical.”
The chamber of commerce first checked with member insurance companies and was told it wouldn’t be feasible or affordable for the chamber to offer health coverage, Ackley said.
Rather than give up, Ackley contacted the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, which she said does have a successful health insurance program for its members.
The Livingston County chamber eventually hooked up its Corning counterpart with an insurance carrier called MVP, which was able to put together an affordable package.
“Not only did MVP offer the chamber a package, but Steuben County is classified as being in the Rochester rating zone, which has some of the most competitive rates in New York state,” Ackley said. “We selected two plans, one with no deductible and one with a high deductible, that we could offer to chamber businesses with between two and 50 employees.”
Businesses with more than 50 employees can negotiate directly with MVP, Ackley said.
The next step is getting the word out. Most chamber members haven’t taken advantage of the new health insurance benefits, Ackley said.
“It will take a while to grow momentum, until businesses know we have it,” she said. “Those that have signed on have been extremely positive. A lot of what the chamber does it intangible. We can’t quantify it. But health insurance is a tangible benefit we can provide for members.”
