Helena Area Chamber of Commerce joins Montana State Chamber health insurance plan

The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce has joined the statewide effort of the Montana Chamber of Commerce to offer health insurance to small businesses through the state group’s Montana Chamber Choices program.

Helena joins the chambers in Billings, Kalispell, Butte, Bozeman and a host of smaller Montana cities in offering the 15-month-old insurance program to its members.

"This was a program set up for small businesses to help out with the challenges they’re facing providing health insurance," said Helena Chamber president Cathy Burwell. "Health insurance comes in at the top of all of our surveys of what our members need and what their biggest challenges are."

The Chamber Choices program is available to chamber memeber businesses (local or state) with between two and 50 employees, and 75 percent of the staff must enroll. It currently offers nine different benefit options, seven of which include a full prescription drug plan.

Webb Brown, president of the Montana Chamber, said the plan has signed up 1,200 workers and dependents from 170 employers around the state. Half of those people, he said, had no insurance before.

By JOHN HARRINGTON – IR Business Editor

Full Story: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/09/06/business/e01090405_01.txt