Guilderland Chamber offers health insurance with a human being who answers

GUILDERLAND The Guilderland Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Bethlehem Chamber to offer its members health insurance that will provide access to a benefits administrator.
I’m the daughter of an insurer, said Sandra Dollard, who runs the Guilderland Chamber and has been working on the partnership since she took the helm a year ago.

I know what it’s like to get a lot of bills at once, she said, in the middle of a medical crisis.

Dollard herself is in remission from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

When I went to get my biopsy, she remembers, the woman who had made the appointment told me: It will cost $2,000.

Dollard had health insurance, but no one to turn to for answers to his questions.

The Guilderland Chamber uses Burt Anthony Associates, which manages Medicare, CDPHP and MVP health and dental insurance. The Bethlehem Chamber will handle the insurance, providing access to Shelli Taber, a licensed insurance agent specializing in health and dental insurance.

Shellis has been in our office with boots on the ground for eight years, said Bethlehem Chamber President Terri Egan. She is a considerable asset. You can pick up your phone and talk to her or come sit in front of her to ask questions and get answers.

Egan continued: We often get people calling us in distress.

With Taber, customers don’t have to wait for answers, Egan said. And, she says, insurance prices are competitive.

The Bethlehem Chamber, Egan said, has nearly 400 members; 77 of them benefit from health insurance with the Chamber. We have large corporate clients and small families, she said.

To qualify for insurance, a business must be a member of the Guilderland or Bethlehem Chamber and have fewer than 100 employees; a one-person business is eligible.

Enrollment or changes for plan year 2024 must be made between November 16 and January 5.

The Guilderland Chamber now has 280 member businesses, Dollard said. Currently, a small portion of our members receive insurance through us. I think they will be more motivated now.

She continued: It used to be easier for rooms.

The Guilderland Chamber, typical of many chambers of commerce, lost members when the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, took effect.

The Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, made health insurance more affordable for individuals and small businesses. Immediately, small businesses were able to benefit from tax credits of up to 35 percent of the employer’s contribution to employee health insurance.

In 2013, the health insurance marketplace opened, allowing individuals and small businesses to purchase affordable insurance.

In 2014, the small business tax credit was increased to 50 percent of the employer’s contribution to employee health insurance.

Everyone kind of jumped ship right off the bat and left on their own, Guilderland Chamber director Michelle Viola-Straight said in 2018. But now costs are increasing, things are changing, coverage is changing. It’s almost [come] it’s come full circle, and we have more and more people calling to say they used the Chamber as an insurance provider, and now they’re coming back to it.

Dollard believes Tabers’ services will appeal to businesses and their employees.

Even reading a bill can be difficult, Dollard said. You must ensure that the invoice is correctly coded. A representative can access a special portal to search and see what you owe. This will allow us to have a human being respond.

She concluded: “Having an in-house representative makes such a difference in the service you get.