Dr. Stephen Kutscher of Rock Solid Chiropractic in Falcon spoke at the Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce August meeting about how the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare) will impact small businesses in the near future.The history of the implementation of the ACA has been marked by missed deadlines, changes, lawsuits and uncertainty, Kutscher said. Business owners need to follow trusted, up-to-date resources rather than make assumptions about the impacts on their business, he said. Insurance companies have been targeting small business plans with as much as 20 percent increases per year before the act is fully implemented, despite the stated goal of the legislation to lower health care costs, he said. ìIt will now be mandatory that insurers show an increase in benefits for an increase in rates,î Kutscher said.ìNo insurer in Colorado will be able to offer a plan that provides less than the benchmark plan. The benchmark plan for Colorado will cost between $761 and $787 per month for a family of three. Since the original proposal was that insurance should be costing about 3 percent of a family’s income, they must be assuming everyone is making about $250,000 a year.ìPay attention to the changes. Plan ahead. Take control of your health. Eat right, move right and think right.î He said a great website for information and changes to the ACA is http://statehealthfacts.org.Chamber businessBob Selle of the Eastern Plains Community Pantry spoke to the chamber about the new food pantry founded this year to serve the eastern part of the county. The organization provides emergency or ongoing food supplies to those in need. The pantry is located at 701 4th Street in Calhan.Connie Johnson, chamber president, announced that Debra Williams of Edward Jones Investments was appointed board secretary. Williams replaces Dayna Jenkins, who resigned in June. Regularly scheduled board elections for chairman, vice president, secretary and treasurer will be held in November.Planning for the second annual wine festival, which is co-sponsored by the chamber, the El Paso County Fair Corp. and the El Paso County Parks Department, is ongoing. Businesses that want to participate should visit the chamber website for information on booths and advertising: http://easternplainschamber.com.The July Falcon Business Expo and 5k run raised about $1,000 for the Helping Hands Food Pantry, said Kutscher, the sponsor of the event.The chamber’s September meeting is Sept. 4 at 7:30 a.m. at Grace Community Church in Falcon.
