Chamber offers health plan

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce June 6 met at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 202 S. John Q. Hammons Pkwy., to introduce its CARE program. According to a news release from the Missouri Chamber, CARE stands for Customized Approach for Responsive Employers. The program is designed to let employers stabilize health insurance costs by combining benefits of self-insurance and traditional health care coverage in customized packages.

The program, geared to small- and mid-sized companies, uses practices that larger companies have taken advantage of for many years, according to Daniel P. Mehan, president and chief executive officer of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

With the CARE program, employers would self-insure routine services such as office visits, prescriptions and lab tests, and supplement that with a traditional insurance carrier that meets the employers' individual needs.

"Employers find that if you pay as you go instead of paying an insurance company in advance for every potential need, you can cut costs substantially," Mehan added.