Chamber of Commerce Announces Chamber Blue of Kansas – The McPherson Sentinel – McPherson Sentinel

Staff report

The McPherson Chamber of Commerce has announced a new partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS) and Chamber of Commerce Executives of Kansas (CCEKS) to offer an Association Health Plan called Chamber Blue of Kansas.

The McPherson Chamber of Commerce and all chambers involved in this partnership recognized that recruiting and retaining talent is vital for business and industry of all sizes, especially small businesses and access to trusted health insurance benefits are a crucial piece to that success. According to SBA statistics, small businesses equate to over 99.1% of all businesses in Kansas with a combined total of 605,147 small business employees in Kansas.

An Association Health Plan is a type of group medical insurance for organizations that allow smaller companies to access the health insurance savings associated with large group medical coverage. Through this, small business, non-profits, and organizations can band together to purchase insurance. That allows more people in the pool, which lowers risk across the pool, and provides more health insurance options, potentially with much more competitive premiums.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of KS has the largest provider network in Kansas with 99% of physicians in-network, and 100% of hospitals in network. BCBSKS also provides a very robust package of health care solutions like their Healthy-Options program, which is a powerful set of services, tools, and one-on-one support to live a healthy life at no extra cost as a BCBSKS member.

Interested business owners, non-profits, and organizations are encouraged to attend an information session at 8:00 am or 10:00 am on Tuesday, April 5th at the McPherson Chamber of Commerce, 306 N. Main. The meetings will be less than an hour, but the 8:00 and 10:00 am start times will accommodate various schedules. RSVP requested to chamberdirector@mcphersonks.org or 620-241-3303.

The partnership will continue to host information sessions in May and July and answer questions with the goal of all interested organizations completing an interest survey during August 2022. The initial rates will be determined in September 2022 based on groups/businesses that have completed the survey and plans will become effective January 1, 2023.

For more information regarding the qualification criteria and more interested parties are asked to visit https://www.bcbsks.com/chamberblueks or contact the McPherson Chamber of Commerce at 620-241-3303 or by email at chamberdirector@mcphersonks.org.