Chamber adding to health care programs

The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce is launching a new health insurance plan for members, partnering with Humana Inc. to offer a program in concert with five major health care providers in the Pikes Peak region, the chamber said Thursday.

Two programs were started a few years ago that allowed chamber members to buy health insurance through the business organization.

Humana's program will have a broader reach. Based in Louisville, Ky., and one of the nation's largest publicly held health care companies, Humana has collaborated with Memorial Health System, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, Colorado Springs Health Partners, Mountain View Medical Group and Pikes Peak Regional Hospital to ensure that program participants have access to services offered by those providers, said Dave Csintyan, the chamber's chief executive officer. Other providers also will be part of the plan.

The chamber doesn't receive compensation for acting as middleman for members to buy insurance, Csintyan said. But by offering such a benefit, the chamber hopes to grow its membership, he said.

The chamber also wants members to have access to competitively priced premiums.

The Humana program will launch Saturday and be available to chamber members with up to 99 employees; they make up most of the organization's 1,500 members. The Humana program will allow certified health care brokers who don't belong to the chamber to market the plan.

More information: www.coloradospringschamber.org/business/health.asp.

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