The Greater Conroe/Lake Conroe Area Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Texas Coalitions Inc., has created a health coalition program for small businesses. It allows smaller employers with less than 50 employees to join together to form coalition groups and obtain rates from any small group insurance carrier offering coverage in Texas. The Chamber offers the coalition to its members, and small businesses that decide to participate in the coalition will benefit by being a Chamber member. The combined premiums for the employers in the first coalition were 39 percent lower than if each had purchased their own group health insurance plan.