TEXAS \u2014 Janie Villarreal McClinchie\u2019s Que Retro Arts sits in the heart of San Antonio\u2019s West Side at the Basila Frocks. It\u2019s a small business composed of dozens of artists showcasing their work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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.”<\/p>\n
Having access to health care, she said, is what stops her and her husband from going all in on their business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither one of us could really afford to not have a 9-to-5 because we rely on the health benefits,\u201d Villarreal McClinchie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Premiums are soaring for Magaly Chocano, who owns Sweb Development, a marketing and web development firm formed in 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery few years I would integrate something, so from health insurance to IRAs to paid leave,\u201d Chocano said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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\u2019t offer anything,\u201d Chocano said. \u201cSometimes I wonder if it\u2019s best not to have it and to just pay cash.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Founder Julissa Carielo said the more businesses that sign up, the more buying power they have.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Carielo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since the launch, 863 members, including Villarreal McClinchie, have signed up for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Carielo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Groups like this aren\u2019t new to Texas. Pooled group health insurance has been around for more than 30 years. The larger the pool, the lower the costs.<\/p>\n
Carielo believes those lower costs make her business more competitive and more likely to retain talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is to help those businesses keep more money in their bottom line and be able to grow,\u201d Carielo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Villarreal McClinchie said her dream of retiring and running Que Retro Arts is now a possibility because she has more options.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEXAS \u2014 Janie Villarreal McClinchie\u2019s Que Retro Arts sits in the heart of San Antonio\u2019s West Side at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2271,2160,910,584,6294,223,82,84,83,27,1569,2053,835],"class_list":["post-480564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-app-health","tag-app-top-stories","tag-business","tag-health","tag-jose-arredondo","tag-news","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-texas","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-top-stories","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}