TEXAS — Janie Villarreal McClinchie’s Que Retro Arts sits in the heart of San Antonio’s West Side at the Basila Frocks. It’s a small business composed of dozens of artists showcasing their work. 

The store sells everything from paintings to custom clothing to earrings, even flowerpots that look like the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, famously known as the Spurs nuns. 

“It’s the ultimate dream. We want to be here full-time,” Villarreal McClinchie said. “We want to be able to be the ones running and operating this business and really putting all our time and love and passion into it.”

Having access to health care, she said, is what stops her and her husband from going all in on their business. 

“Neither one of us could really afford to not have a 9-to-5 because we rely on the health benefits,” Villarreal McClinchie said. 

Premiums are soaring for Magaly Chocano, who owns Sweb Development, a marketing and web development firm formed in 2008. 

“Every few years I would integrate something, so from health insurance to IRAs to paid leave,” Chocano said. 

Experts are predicting employers across the country will see premiums jump 14%. Texas will eclipse the national average with a 16.88% premium increase in 2027. 

“The prices were so astronomical that this year, even for myself and my family, I’ve had to go from a PPO to an HMO that doesn’t offer anything,” Chocano said. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s best not to have it and to just pay cash.” 

A new nonprofit called Collective X launched in September in San Antonio. It aims to help small businesses and other nonprofits access health care benefits for a lot less. 

Founder Julissa Carielo said the more businesses that sign up, the more buying power they have.

“We are going to provide four or five plans they get to choose from, and then they basically offer it to their employees and decide what is available for them and their families to buy from,” Carielo said. 

Since the launch, 863 members, including Villarreal McClinchie, have signed up for free. 

“We are reaching 13 cities in the state of Texas where they word is getting out. We have companies in Corpus, Laredo, Edinburg, not just San Antonio, although we’re launching here,” Carielo said. 

Groups like this aren’t new to Texas. Pooled group health insurance has been around for more than 30 years. The larger the pool, the lower the costs.

Carielo believes those lower costs make her business more competitive and more likely to retain talent.

“This is to help those businesses keep more money in their bottom line and be able to grow,” Carielo said. 

Villarreal McClinchie said her dream of retiring and running Que Retro Arts is now a possibility because she has more options.