County moves to boost Healthy Howard enrollment
Still expects to sign up 2,000 for pioneer health care plan
By Derek Simmonsen
dsimmonsen@patuxent.com
Posted 1/05/09
Howard County health officials are trying new tactics to reach people they think could qualify for the county’s new health care plan but haven’t yet signed up.
The Healthy Howard Access Plan, launched Oct. 1, offers health coverage to people who are uninsured. While the program was set up to accommodate up to 2,200 people in the first year, so far about 66 people have qualified, said Dr. Peter Beilenson, the county health officer.
County Council member Greg Fox last month said demand was not as high as officials had predicted and suggested moving county money out of the program. Beilenson said the new outreach effort is not directly in response to Fox’s criticisms, but he said there is pressure to show Healthy Howard is a worthwhile venture.
“I don’t want to give any reason for people to be asking questions about why the county should spend $500,000,” Beilenson said Monday.
Healthy Howard, which is a non-profit organization, has a first-year budget of $2.8 million, with $1.6 million coming from participant fees, $500,000 from the county and the rest from private sector donations.
Enrollment was cut off in October after more than 1,100 people filled out applications. However, about 1,080 of the applicants actually qualified — without knowing it — for state and federal health insurance programs, such as Medicaid, and were enrolled in those programs instead, Beilenson said.
Healthy Howard enrollment is now officially reopened, but officials are targeting a narrower group that likely qualifies rather than trying to reach anyone who is uninsured, Beilenson said.
There are five groups the county wants to enroll, and officials are working to reach them.
E-mails were sent directly to state and county contractual employees who do not qualify for health benefits. Letters were hand-delivered to about 500 subsidized housing residences. Letters are being mailed to about 28,000 students at Howard Community College.
In addition, phone calls are being made to small businesses whose employees may not have insurance. And, letters are being sent to parents of children who are in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
The target salary range for the program is roughly $35,000 to $63,600 for a family of four, although those figures are doubled if the person is self-employed.
Beilenson said the county hopes to enroll 150 to 200 people per month, with about 2,000 people enrolled by the end of the program’s first year.
He said he would be happy with as many as 1,500 signing up.
If, despite the county’s efforts, only several hundred people enroll in Healthy Howard, then it would be time to rethink the program, Beilenson said.
A program on the county health department Web site allows residents to find out if they are eligible for Healthy Howard. If they are, they are directed to fill out a form and mail it in with someone following up with them by phone.
Fox, a critic of the program before it launched, said the large amount of people who qualified for other programs made him question the need for Healthy Howard.
If only a small number of people do not qualify for existing programs, the county should have considered ways to help them through existing programs and non-profit groups rather than creating a new initiative, he said.
“I think (Beilenson’s) more worried about saving their signature program rather than serving the citizens of the county,” Fox said.
Beilenson said he has no doubt there is a need in the county, based in part on Census Bureau estimates and other research conducted before launching the program.
“Clearly there are 20,000 uninsured in Howard County, without question,” he said. Of those, at least a few thousand should be eligible for Healthy Howard and not other state or federal programs, he said.
Beilenson said he is unsure why eligible people have not signed up, but said some may not be aware of the program. There has been extensive media coverage, but most of it was in print media, not on television, he said.
Meanwhile, the first people enrolled in Healthy Howard will begin having their initial appointments with primary care doctors this month, followed by visits with their health coach.
Beilenson will give a presentation on the program and address questions at the County Council’s monthly meeting Jan. 12.
The Healthy Howard Access Plan, launched Oct. 1, offers health coverage to people who are uninsured. While the program was set up to accommodate up to 2,200 people in the first year, so far about 66 people have qualified, said Dr. Peter Beilenson, the county health officer.
County Council member Greg Fox last month said demand was not as high as officials had predicted and suggested moving county money out of the program. Beilenson said the new outreach effort is not directly in response to Fox’s criticisms, but he said there is pressure to show Healthy Howard is a worthwhile venture.
“I don’t want to give any reason for people to be asking questions about why the county should spend $500,000,” Beilenson said Monday.
Healthy Howard, which is a non-profit organization, has a first-year budget of $2.8 million, with $1.6 million coming from participant fees, $500,000 from the county and the rest from private sector donations.
Enrollment was cut off in October after more than 1,100 people filled out applications. However, about 1,080 of the applicants actually qualified — without knowing it — for state and federal health insurance programs, such as Medicaid, and were enrolled in those programs instead, Beilenson said.
Healthy Howard enrollment is now officially reopened, but officials are targeting a narrower group that likely qualifies rather than trying to reach anyone who is uninsured, Beilenson said.
There are five groups the county wants to enroll, and officials are working to reach them.
E-mails were sent directly to state and county contractual employees who do not qualify for health benefits. Letters were hand-delivered to about 500 subsidized housing residences. Letters are being mailed to about 28,000 students at Howard Community College.
In addition, phone calls are being made to small businesses whose employees may not have insurance. And, letters are being sent to parents of children who are in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.
The target salary range for the program is roughly $35,000 to $63,600 for a family of four, although those figures are doubled if the person is self-employed.
Beilenson said the county hopes to enroll 150 to 200 people per month, with about 2,000 people enrolled by the end of the program’s first year.
He said he would be happy with as many as 1,500 signing up.
If, despite the county’s efforts, only several hundred people enroll in Healthy Howard, then it would be time to rethink the program, Beilenson said.
A program on the county health department Web site allows residents to find out if they are eligible for Healthy Howard. If they are, they are directed to fill out a form and mail it in with someone following up with them by phone.
Fox, a critic of the program before it launched, said the large amount of people who qualified for other programs made him question the need for Healthy Howard.
If only a small number of people do not qualify for existing programs, the county should have considered ways to help them through existing programs and non-profit groups rather than creating a new initiative, he said.
“I think (Beilenson’s) more worried about saving their signature program rather than serving the citizens of the county,” Fox said.
Beilenson said he has no doubt there is a need in the county, based in part on Census Bureau estimates and other research conducted before launching the program.
“Clearly there are 20,000 uninsured in Howard County, without question,” he said. Of those, at least a few thousand should be eligible for Healthy Howard and not other state or federal programs, he said.
Beilenson said he is unsure why eligible people have not signed up, but said some may not be aware of the program. There has been extensive media coverage, but most of it was in print media, not on television, he said.
Meanwhile, the first people enrolled in Healthy Howard will begin having their initial appointments with primary care doctors this month, followed by visits with their health coach.
Beilenson will give a presentation on the program and address questions at the County Council’s monthly meeting Jan. 12.
user comments (2)
user beatendowntaxpayer says...
Once again proving that 90% plus of the people without health insurance are without health insurance by choice. They won't pay anything for it; they'd rather buy their big screen tvs and cars. Here is another expensive big-government program that won't help anyone, yet punish those like myself who buy health insurance on the open market because it's a priority for me to take care of my family. We qualify for the Howard plan from an income level, but we don't qualify because I'm smart and buy health insurance. Just admit the program is a failure, built on a bunch of liberal myths, and cancel the whole thing and give taxpayers a break for a change.
Posted 10:28 PM, 01.05.09 | Permalink
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