A health insurance solution for your business: A Q&A with Heidi Larson of Goff Public

Doug Loon: Today I have a very special guest, Heidi Larson, who is the CFO and COO of Goff Public and a member of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors. Heidi, please tell us a little bit about Goff Public, and then we're going to jump into an all-important discussion item around ChamberHealth and the availability of an affordable health care product for small businesses like yours. But first, tell us about yourself.  

 Heidi Larson: Absolutely. Thank you, Doug, for having me. I'm Heidi Larson with Goff Public, as you mentioned. Goff Public is a public relations and public affairs company. We are based in downtown Saint Paul. We've been in business for almost 60 years, and serve a multitude of clients including for profit, nonprofit and public sector.  

DL: Fantastic! And I know your company has been getting your healthcare benefits from ChamberHealth, through the Minnesota Chamber Business Services, and it has a very robust healthcare offering, and you've been a customer of the program for what two years?  

HL: Yes, we have been with ChamberHealth for two years, and soon to be a third. It has been phenomenal for us, and we are so happy to be a part of this program. 

DL: Its currently open enrollment season, which means businesses, large and small, that are that are in the fully insured marketplace, go out and look at the market and see how rates are, and sometimes compare different plans. I take it that you’re in the midst of that right now. How do things look for you as you make decisions about your healthcare benefits, for you, your family and for your employees.

HL: The process for open enrollment can sometimes definitely be daunting, but I am happy to say the Chamber has made it easy for us and our information and our quotes that we've received are looking great. We've compared them to other options in the market and are very happy with what we found from ChamberHealth.

DL: So, from a user standpoint, you have about 25 employees, correct? What’s the satisfaction around your ChamberHealth product that you've had for a couple of years now?

HL: We have options within the ChamberHealth plans, and so at Goff Public, we offer multiple plans for people to choose from for what is correct for their family. And my family is insured through the program as well, and we have fantastic benefit plans that fit people at different stages of their life. There are also special features with the plans for things like health reward programs that provide incentives to employees for healthy habits and things like that. So, they're really robust plans.  

DL: You're also the Chief Financial Officer at Goff Public, so from a perspective of the financials, how does ChamberHealth stack up?  

HL: It's the best we've seen. I've been in this role for over 10 years and have seen a lot of volatility in the health care market and to be able to have plans that are affordable as well as quality plans, that is so key to us at Goff Public. One of the things that we do is an employee climate survey every year, and health benefits are ranked as the number one valued benefit. So, it's super important that we can have quality plans that come in at a cost that the company can manage.  

DL: That’s great to hear, Heidi! Well, for those out there that are small businesses in that two to 100 employee range, please give ChamberHealth a look. Heidi, thank you for being with us and sharing your story and your experience with ChamberHealth.  

Please take a moment to look into ChamberHealth. You can find it on our website or give us a call at (651) 292-4650, and we can work with you through your broker on making sure you have the opportunity to test and check out ChamberHealth.