Connections is the newsletter of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. The CCC reserves the right to edit submitted materials and is solely responsible for editorial content. Please address press releases and letters to Lisa S. Cohen.
Publisher: Kelly Thompson Clark
Managing Editor & Ad Contact: Lisa S. Cohen
Published by the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce
859 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 876-4100
www.cambridgechamber.org
Chamber Staff
Kelly Thompson Clark President & CEO
Daisy Bowler Director of Operations
Lisa S. Cohen Director of Communications
Terrence F. Smith Director of Government Affairs
Molly Cole, Manager of Business Development
Officers of the Board of Directors
Chair Arthur Spears East Cambridge Savings Bank
Vice Chair Jeffrey Lockwood, Novartis
Treasurer Penny Garver, Sovereign | Santander
Members of the Board of Directors
Alex Attia, Charles Hotel
Joseph Barrell, Acorn Realty
Carl F. Barron, CARU Associates
Brian Burke, Microsoft
Dennis Carlone, Carlone & Associates
Sheldon Cohen, Community Mapping
Robyn Culbertson, Cambridge Office for Tourism
John DiGiovanni, Trinity Property Management
Andrea Gabrielle, Neptune Web, Inc.
Sarah Gallop, MIT
Kathy Gram, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company
Kathleen Granchelli, Draper Laboratory
Skip Hartwell, Akamai Technologies
Jay Kiely, Forest City
Thomas Lucey, Harvard University
Joseph Maguire, Jr., Alexandria Real Estate Equities
Norman McIver, Cambridge Trust Co.
Ellen McLaughlin, Tutoring Plus of Cambridge
Neal Mizner Metropolitan Moving & Storage Corp.
Michael O’Connell Mount Auburn Hospital
William Sage Sage Hotel Corporation
Rachael Solem Harding House at Harvard
Ann Stanesa, Feinstein Kean Healthcare
William Zamparelli, NSTAR
James C. Hawkins, Director Emeritus
President's Viewpoint
In a recent trip I saw a billboard that read, “If it’s called health care, why does it seem like nobody cares?” I chuckled for a moment but then immediately thought, “Well, I don’t blame people for feeling that way. I feel that way!” Of course the sign was making a statement on behalf of whatever group put it up (never could find that out) but I think the sentiment is probably universal.
We all know the cost of health insurance continues to be a burden despite people telling us it’s going down. The CCC hosted the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Education for the Office of Innovation and Improvement (yes that was his real title—don’t you love DC?). We pulled together representatives from businesses of all sizes for this last-minute meeting. The secretary opened up the conversation by talking about how happy the Administration was to see insurance rates going down.
You could have heard a pin drop in the room and I swear I heard crickets. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, I chimed in with, “No offense Mr. Secretary, but I’m not sure what demographic you’re using. We in Massachusetts are not finding that to be the case.”
We spent the next hour updating him on insurance in Massachusetts, after which the group started sharing their personal and company stories around escalating costs and decreasing services. To our surprise, many of the experiences were shared no matter whether the rep was from a small business or a larger company. The Secretary and his team were scribbling notes so fast that I suggested he use the recorder on his phone.
Another instance involved a Massachusetts official who attended a statewide chamber meeting and talked about the proposed 2012 insurance increases, emphasizing how happy they were to report lower increases than in previous years. The chamber execs simply stated that although we appreciated action being taken, telling a small business that they are only going to see a 12% increase instead of 25% does no good when they are already paying $700 per employee! What we need to see are rates going down prior to “lower increases.” That would have a real impact on our bottom lines.
I don’t want these examples to imply that the federal and state administrations are out of touch or don’t care about us. In fact, eighteen months ago, Governor Patrick threw down the gauntlet and urged the Division of Insurance (DOI) to find a way to provide lower rates to small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. What followed was the initiative and process that you may have heard me comment on previously.
Insurance Cooperatives have formed, one of which is the MA Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (MACCE). These co-ops will serve as the conduit for “discounted” plans. Within the co-ops, individual chambers were selected—one of which is Cambridge—to offer access to the plans.
What do businesses need to do to access these plans when they become available? It’s simple—you must be a CCC member in good standing. You will pay no more that your regular annual Chamber dues to have the option of utilizing these plans. It will be a benefit of membership. The CCC is not looking to make money. We simply want to see some relief for businesses. That’s payment enough. We know that if you are saving money, you will put that money to good use other places. Perhaps you will give current employees more hours, add other benefits or even have the ability to offer employees better coverage.
Where is the process at this point? Well, I’m sure you can imagine what happens when elected and appointed leaders come together in a room. We all have our impression of how long this should take and what should be easy to implement. “Process” is a good word for it.
As we approach our first benchmark in May, I can tell you that all parties are working diligently— the DOI, chambers of commerce, insurance carriers and the elected officials, alike. We are all striving to find a way to may this work. I can’t tell you what kind of first year discounts we will experience but I can promise you that the CCC is front and center representing you and your organization.
Best in business,
Kelly Thompson Clark
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