Dear Members:
I am e-mailing my President’s Message for April 2019 to you a weekend early to avoid any April Fool’s Day confusion. No fooling.
Get Out and Vote
The April 2 Consolidated General Election includes contested races for the Elmhurst City Council Alderman (Wards 1 and 4), Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board of Education (4 seats/8 candidates) and Elmhurst Park District Board of Commissioners (2 seats/5 candidates), so get out and vote if you haven’t already.
Association Healthcare Plan
With the remnants of the 2010 Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in jeopardy, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry and fellow chamber members in the West Suburban Chamber of Commerce Executives (WSCCE) group are partnering with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce on the development of an Association Healthcare Plan (AHP) for businesses with one to 50 employees (including sole proprietors).
Some 20 WSCCE members have been doing preliminary work to create an AHP since President Donald Trump’s October 2017 Executive Order 13813 (“Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States) instructing the U.S. Department of Labor to establish AHP guidelines per the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1974.
Katie Maloney, Vice President of Health Policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce, made AHP presentations at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Day in Springfield on March 20 and in 2018 at a WSCCE monthly luncheon meeting.
At Chamber Day, Laurie Silvey, Associate Vice President and President of Center for Business Management at the Illinois Chamber, reported that the state chamber is forming a separate subsidiary for the sole purpose of administering an AHP and sent a Request For Proposal (RFP) to eight healthcare insurance providers with a submission deadline of April 18. Some details of the Illinois Chamber’s RFP include:
- This plan will encompass businesses from 1-50 employees, including sole proprietors.
- All participating employers included in this plan must be a member of either ILCC or the local chamber federation formed for the purpose of administering this AHP.
- The RFP includes request for offering fully insured medical insurance, as well as the possibility of packaging dental and/or vision insurance.
- The more companies that participate in this plan with the ILCC, the better the rates we expect.
- Depending on the results of the RFP, this may be a single carrier or multiple carrier, with multiple plans available. We plan to work to build a strong network of providers.
Per the DOL’s new rule, AHPs can serve employers in a city, county, state or multi-state metropolitan area (or a particular industry nationwide) to provide more choice and more-affordable insurance for small businesses.
Customized to the needs of small businesses, AHPs are projected to reduce administrative costs and strengthen negotiating power from larger risk pools and greater economies of scale, according to the DOL. As with large company plans, consumer protections and healthcare anti-discrimination protections with apply.
The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will monitor the new AHPs to ensure compliance with the law and protect consumers, with state government sharing enforcement authority with the federal government.
According to the DOL, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates millions of employees will switch their coverage to more-affordable and more-flexible AHPs and 400,000 previously uninsured employees will gain coverage.
Salute to Women of Business
On April 24, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry will recognize women who own, manage and/or served as a primary chamber representative of a member business or not-for-profit organization at our 2019 “Salute to Women of Business” Spring Luncheon and Expo at the Diplomat West Banquet Halls.
Honorees will be recognized and presented a Certificate of Appreciation, if in attendance. The reservation deadline is Friday, April 19, at 5 p.m. Ticket cost is $30 per member. Exhibit tables are available at a cost of $40 per member. Click HERE to register online or contact our Chamber office by phone at 630-834-6060 or e-mail.
Happy Anniversaries
Five members are celebrating milestone Chamber anniversaries in April, as follows: 25 years—Jim Dahmer Plumbing and Sewer; 15 years—Edible Arrangements; 10 years—Wisdom Elder Care; and 5 years—Lakeside Bank and Ruff Life.
New Members
The Chamber welcomed four new members in March as follows: BFF Personal Training, DuPage County Area Project (DuCAP), Itasca Bank & Trust and Kathryn Baubly.
Reactivated Members
Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation (ECAF) reactivated its membership in March after a brief hiatus.
No Longer Members
The Chamber said goodbye to the following 16 members in March: Bread and Butter Home, DJUj Mobile Music Lights & Entertainment, Friends of Jim Caffrey, Glidepath Power Solutions, Hops for Humanity, IRC Retail Centers, iVape Bar, Jane Dilworth & Associates, Jim’s Handyman Services, Law Offices of Laura M. Urbik Kern, Magnolia Lane Media, Massage Envy, Midwest Legacy Group, Montalbano, The Elmhurst Titan and THG Financial Strategies.