By Jim Stafford
The Oklahoman 

Oklahoma is gaining the corporate headquarters for publicly traded Alliance HealthCard Inc., which is moving to the Norman offices of Benefit Marketing Solutions.

Alliance HealthCard merged with Benefit Marketing Solutions in 2007.

Alliance HealthCard Inc. markets health discount programsfor medical and dental coverge, as well as discount savings packages for dining, entertainment, automotive, legal, financial and insurance programs.

Benefit Marketing Solutions now does marketing for Alliance HealthCard, said Danny Wright, the company’s Norman-based chief executive office. Alliance HealthCard’s stock is traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board under the ticker symbol ALHC.

Stable Staff

The company emplys 18 people at the Norman office and about 15 at the Atlanta headquarters that is moving, Wright said. The number of employees in each location will remain stable for now, he said.

“Long-term, as many as 10 or 12 of them (Atlanta jobs) will be relocated,” Wright said.

Tom Kiser, Alliance HealthCard’s Atlanta-based executive vice president, said the Atlanta office would continue to operate.

“It’s not like a dropping of all the Atlanta facilitites and everyone is moving to Norman,” Kiser said.

Wright called the transaction that united the two companies in 2007 a “reverse merger” that resulted in Benefit Marketing Solutions officers holding the majority of the stock.

“With over a year since the merger between BMS and Alliance, we are glad to have our executive officers and official home office located here,” Wright said. “With most of the executive team already located in the Norman office, it made sense for us to make the official change to this location.”`