Butler County plan would cover the uninsured
From the Journal-News
By Candice Brooks Higgins
Staff Writer
Monday, February 26, 2007
HAMILTON — Kylea Corbin is a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Dayton who works as a bartender at the Red Onion Cafe in Monroe. But she can't afford health insurance and she doesn't qualify for Medicaid.
"As a young woman, you are supposed to get a check-up every six to 12 months, but I have to think about if (I can) afford this visit and if (I can) afford to take off work because that's more money I'm losing," Corbin said. "A lot of times, if it's not anything serious, I just don't bother going to the doctor."
Corbin and Butler County's estimated 40,000 uninsured could soon find an affordable alternative.
County officials have worked for more than two years to get county Commission President Gregory Jolivette's health care initiative, Healthshare, through Ohio law roadblocks and off the ground.
They recently had a breakthrough when they found a third party, Bellevue, Wash.-based Symetra, to administer the plan. They plan to announce it in late March, and, by summer, launch the health plan that would allow employers and employees to split the cost at about $65 a month each, said Bill Morse, the project manager. No business could be too small or enroll too few, Morse said.
The news brings good tidings for Gary Henz, the manager at the Red Onion, where 10 of the 13 workers are uninsured. Henz, who opened the restaurant in July 2005, wouldn't have health insurance himself without his wife's job.
"As a small business, when you are trying to insure five, six or eight people, it's very expensive," Henz said. "They could offer a lot better coverage and at a more affordable price to the small business."
Referring to his employees, Henz said, "When you don't have any insurance, a little bit goes a long way."
With five years experience selling health insurance, Les Clark, owner of Nova Health Toxicology in Fairfield, is a little more skeptical, particularly about the range of coverage. A baby's stay in neo-natal intensive care, a limb reattachment or an organ transplant might be the type of catastrophic life events the plan won't cover because the aim is to provide preventative and maintenance care at an affordable rate, Morse said.
"People aren't looking to insurance to pay for the little things," Clark said. "You don't buy car insurance for lube jobs. You buy it for the things you can't cover."
Jolivette said there may be limits on the plan, but the county is not limited to its one vendor, Symetra. It could eventually offer several options with various companies.
Also, as the program grows, the coverage area could expand beyond the borders of Butler County, Morse said.
"I think that it's a good first step, and hopefully it will be very attractive to businesses that have never thought of offering health care benefits to their employees," Jolivette said.
By Candice Brooks Higgins
Staff Writer
Monday, February 26, 2007
HAMILTON — Kylea Corbin is a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Dayton who works as a bartender at the Red Onion Cafe in Monroe. But she can't afford health insurance and she doesn't qualify for Medicaid.
"As a young woman, you are supposed to get a check-up every six to 12 months, but I have to think about if (I can) afford this visit and if (I can) afford to take off work because that's more money I'm losing," Corbin said. "A lot of times, if it's not anything serious, I just don't bother going to the doctor."
Corbin and Butler County's estimated 40,000 uninsured could soon find an affordable alternative.
County officials have worked for more than two years to get county Commission President Gregory Jolivette's health care initiative, Healthshare, through Ohio law roadblocks and off the ground.
They recently had a breakthrough when they found a third party, Bellevue, Wash.-based Symetra, to administer the plan. They plan to announce it in late March, and, by summer, launch the health plan that would allow employers and employees to split the cost at about $65 a month each, said Bill Morse, the project manager. No business could be too small or enroll too few, Morse said.
The news brings good tidings for Gary Henz, the manager at the Red Onion, where 10 of the 13 workers are uninsured. Henz, who opened the restaurant in July 2005, wouldn't have health insurance himself without his wife's job.
"As a small business, when you are trying to insure five, six or eight people, it's very expensive," Henz said. "They could offer a lot better coverage and at a more affordable price to the small business."
Referring to his employees, Henz said, "When you don't have any insurance, a little bit goes a long way."
With five years experience selling health insurance, Les Clark, owner of Nova Health Toxicology in Fairfield, is a little more skeptical, particularly about the range of coverage. A baby's stay in neo-natal intensive care, a limb reattachment or an organ transplant might be the type of catastrophic life events the plan won't cover because the aim is to provide preventative and maintenance care at an affordable rate, Morse said.
"People aren't looking to insurance to pay for the little things," Clark said. "You don't buy car insurance for lube jobs. You buy it for the things you can't cover."
Jolivette said there may be limits on the plan, but the county is not limited to its one vendor, Symetra. It could eventually offer several options with various companies.
Also, as the program grows, the coverage area could expand beyond the borders of Butler County, Morse said.
"I think that it's a good first step, and hopefully it will be very attractive to businesses that have never thought of offering health care benefits to their employees," Jolivette said.
posted by Scott @ 9:29 AM
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