Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership

Chamber Confidential

www.metrochamber.com

February 15, 2005

Volume 2, Number 7

Department Updates

Committee Preference forms available on-line. Click here to sign up!

2005 Major Events! Click here to view the current schedule.

Upcoming events and Membership news, click here.

ChamberPlus, Inc. news, click here.

Governmental Relations news, click here.

Workforce Development news, click here.

Economic Development news, click here.

Community Development news, click here.

Leadership Jackson news, click here.

Updated list of new members, click here.

New Photo Gallery Pictures, click here.

Did you know that the Chamber could save you money on Office Products? Click here to find out how!

Receiving bad checks? Click here to find out how the chamber can save your business time and money on check recovery!

Click here to view the 2005 Executive Committee & Board of Directors

Special Thanks to our Diamond Level Investors

Platinum Level Investor

Top Five Keywords Searched for the Week:

Real Estate
Entertainment
Lodging
Recreation
Utilities

Memo from President Duane O'Neill

BEWARE OF ASSOCIATED

HEALTH PLANS LEGISLATION

One of the best tangible benefits of membership in the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership is access to affordable health insurance. This offering, made available through our affiliate ChamberPlus, is a purchasing alliance of small businesses to leverage health insurance for employees and their families. Less than ten years in existence, ChamberPlus now covers over 19,000 lives. Through a collaboration of other chambers across the state, ChamberPlus is now offered in 52 other communities in Mississippi. The most startling number is that 60% of those now insured did not have prior coverage. This program is obviously effective in reaching the uninsured of our state. Now Congress in our nation’s Capitol is considering association health plans legislation, which would allow national business associations to create programs that on the surface look like ChamberPlus. Please beware that this legislation IS NOT GOOD for small businesses.

The idea of creating national purchasing alliances just as we have done with ChamberPlus in Mississippi sounds good. However the devil is in the details. Our program is governed by the rules and regulations of the office of our state insurance commissioner. Under the current language in the federal bill, these new self-insured AHP’s would be exempt from state laws. This includes important aspects such as solvency requirements, tier rating, consumer protection rules, and benefit mandates. In an attempt to keep a complicated subject as simple as possible, we will focus on just one of the issues. That single issue is the ability of AHP’s to circumvent state laws in pricing techniques and thus cherry pick only healthy businesses for their program.

Without the need to adhere to state rules and regulations, national AHP’s can effectively price a business which has individuals with preexisting conditions or those that are potentially high risks at a much higher rate. If someone in that business develops a heart condition, is diagnosed with cancer or has a baby, the rates could be raised so high that the business owner will not be able to afford the insurance for his employees. National AHP’s will in reality accept only the healthiest of the business organizations. Accordingly their rates will be low. However, if an employee in a healthy business develops a catastrophic illness, the AHP without state regulations can immediately raise that firm’s rates to unacceptable heights. In the mean time the remainder of the business community’s rates will be high without the ability to pool all businesses together. The bottom line will be great rates and good coverage for the low risk businesses and exorbitant rates for all other businesses participating in the plan. As a result fewer businesses and their employees will have insurance coverage. Studies by the Congressional Budget Office and Mercer Risk, Finance &Insurance Consulting have reached the same conclusion. If we establish national AHP’S, the actual number of uninsured in our nation increases and this will only add to the spiraling cost of overall health care for our state and nation.

It is important that everyone understand that my opinion is not given to protect ChamberPlus from the competition of AHP’s. ChamberPlus could actually become an AHP and be well ahead of any competition that would be starting from scratch. While that would be good for the bottom line of ChamberPlus, it would come at the expense of essentially cherry picking which of you we would want to cover in the insurance program. Today we are required by state law to accept everyone and hold rate increases within certain parameters. Eliminating any business with employees who are medical risks may be good business, but it is bad for our members. The pressure in Washington to pass some plan directed at addressing health care is relentless. We are currently working on a compromise position or alternative plans for our congressional delegation. However, association health plans as presently exist in proposed legislation is BAD for small businesses in Mississippi.

Governmental Relations Update

Senior Vice President, Governmental Relations Lewis Slater

2005 Legislative Activity

Now that we are at the midway point of the 2005 session of the legislature, things will start happening to cut expenditures, raise revenue, or some of both. With the $600 to $800 million shortfall between expected revenues and budget demands on state government for fiscal year 06, hard decisions will have to be made and made soon.

To keep you informed about legislative activities, the status of the chamber’s Metro Legislative Agenda is updated at least weekly. Also, the Governmental Relations Section of our chamber website can connect you with the tools to enable you to check on the status of any pending legislation that you may be interested.

We are proud of our renovated website and hope that you will use it often to check on the many services and programs offered to our membership. Our Membership Department is now capable of receiving your 2005 Committee Preference Selections on–line. Click on “About the Chamber,” then click on “Join us” to access this new tool.

Just as I invite you to participate on the committees in the Governmental Relations Division, the other chamber divisions also welcome your involvement. The opportunities for involvement are numerous, and we feel that his new on-line application process will make it easier for you get more involved in the activities of your chamber.

MetroJackson Chamber Committee Preference Forms Now Available On-Line!!!!

Click Here To Sign Up for the Committee of Your Choice for 2005!

“PROVIDING EDUCATORS PRAISE” –

“PEP” SQUAD

One of the keys to student success is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Recruiting and retaining quality teachers is one of the greatest challenges our school districts face. Some communities have banded together to develop attractive teacher recruitment packages that offer everything from thousands of dollars in signing bonuses to discounts on housing and banking.

The PEP Squad team of Leadership Mississippi (PEP Squad) is addressing this issue. We are creating a partnership with local and national businesses to recognize, recruit and retain educators. Our plan is to capitalize on and expand the teacher appreciation efforts offered by businesses. Here are the details:

What: Local businesses and organizations agree to help recruit, retain, and recognize school system employees by participating in the PEP program.

Who: Any business or organization that provides on-going discounts, or other incentives to school system employees can participate.

How: The participant signs the attached agreement detailing their contribution.

The PEP Squad will compile and distribute a list of participants to eligible employees in the tri-county metro area. Though it is currently under construction, the PEP Squad directory will be listed on the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership ’s website. Your website will be provided in the PEP Squad directory, giving your business added exposure.

For more information contact: