Launch of TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan Provides Affordable Healthcare Benefits for Uninsured Small Business Employees

The Harris County Healthcare Alliance, together with UnitedHealthcare and Community Health Choice, has launched the TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan, designed to offer affordable health benefits for uninsured employees of small businesses in the county. The goals of the program are to increase the number of local workers with healthcare coverage, improve their wellbeing and access to care, and assist small businesses in remaining competitive with a healthy workforce.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett says, "Here in Harris County, we are progressing with initiatives to expand healthcare coverage and improve healthcare delivery for the benefit of the entire community. The TexHealth 3-Share Plan for small business employees is a step in the right direction.”

Houston Mayor Bill White says, "Houston is home to the best healthcare services in the world, yet nearly one-third of our residents lack health insurance – the highest percent of any major city in America. The new 3-Share Plan responds to the needs of the working uninsured for low-cost preventive and primary care, and to small business employers who need a group health benefits program free of high premiums and administrative costs.”

The Harris County 3-Share Plan is an initiative of the Harris County Healthcare Alliance, an independent nonprofit that serves as a catalyst for improving the healthcare system of Houston/Harris County. The Alliance is one of six Texas community organizations, collectively known as the TexHealth Coalition, that are developing similar programs across the state. The Coalition was instrumental in fostering the success of Senate Bill 10, passed by the 80th Texas Legislature and signed by Governor Rick Perry to provide new health coverage options for low-wage workers.

Harris County Healthcare Alliance Executive Director Karen Love says, "The costs of these types of programs are shared among employers and their employees, and subsidized by one or more sources of public and/or private funding. For the Harris County 3-Share Plan, the public-private subsidy fund currently totals $4.5 million, including State Health Access Program federal funds, State Appropriations, Community Health Choice funding, and the City of Houston’s Contractor Responsibility Fund.” She adds, "We have even been granted funds specifically to assist employees of small businesses impacted by Hurricane Ike.”

The TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan is available through small employers (defined as those with 2 to 50 employees) who have not offered group health insurance in the past 12 months. Membership is limited to employers whose principal place of business is in Harris County, although their employees may reside outside county lines. Eligible employees (those who work at least 30 hours per week and receive a W-2 form) may opt for coverage through one of two benefit plans: Plan A through UnitedHealthcare or Plan B through Community Health Choice.

Randy Giles, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, South Texas, says, "UnitedHealthcare has long offered common-sense, tailored health benefit solutions for Houston-area businesses and more than one million of their employees and dependents. As we help launch the TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan, our team of professionals is excited to be part of this public-private partnership that will offer a unique health benefit option for currently uninsured small business employers and their employees.”

Community Health Choice President and CEO Kenneth Janda says, "For more than 13 years, Community Health Choice, an affiliate of the Harris County Hospital District, has delivered high-quality, affordable healthcare to the underserved population of Southeast Texas. Most of our 150,000 members are children of low-income, working families. Through the new 3-Share Plan, we will facilitate access to culturally sensitive, affordable care that improves health outcomes for currently uninsured adults, including many who may be the parents of our current members.”

The Harris County 3-Share Plan provides employee-only benefits. Dependents of participating workers may be eligible for other low-cost healthcare coverage, such as the State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) Medicaid program or federally funded Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Employees who earn pre-tax wages of $16 per hour (approximately 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level) or less are eligible to have one third of the total cost of their 3-Share Plan premiums subsidized. The premiums will vary by employer group and, based on an average $240 per month premium, each "share” paid by the employee (post-subsidy), employer and subsidy will be in the range of approximately $40 to $120 per month. Higher-income employees may be eligible for 3-Share coverage, but will not be eligible for the subsidy.

Both 3-Share Plan options (A and B) cover inpatient hospitalization and outpatient hospital surgery, primary care visits/preventive care, radiology and other diagnostic tests, emergency room visits, prescription drugs, and behavioral healthcare. The degree to which each plan covers specific services varies in terms of number of visits, surgeries and hospital day stays allowed, annual deductibles, co-insurance, out-of-pocket costs and maximum benefits. Depending on which plan the participant chooses, preventive dental, vision exams and other services may be covered. The extensive 3-Share provider network includes thousands of doctors and encompasses most major Houston-area healthcare systems and their medical staff.

For information on offering TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan coverage to employees, small business owners may call the TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan at 713-368-1336. Workers of eligible small businesses are encouraged to check with their employers as to whether and when enrollment will be offered for their company. For more information, visit http://texhealth.org/regions/harris-county.

About the Harris County Healthcare Alliance — www.hchalliance.org

The Harris County Healthcare Alliance was formed in 2006 following recommendations by the Harris County Public Healthcare System Council and the Greater Houston Partnership’s Public Health Task Force. Membership includes more than 45 public and private healthcare and healthcare-related organizations that support the organization’s mission: to serve as a catalyst for improving the healthcare system of Houston/Harris County. The Alliance Board of Directors is comprised of public and private healthcare providers, business and civic leaders.

About UnitedHealthcare — www.unitedhealthcare.com

UnitedHealthcare provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public-sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with approximately 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.

About Community Health Choice — www.communityhealthchoice.org

Community Health Choice, Inc. (CHC) is a non-profit HMO licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance. Through its network of more than 4,000 local doctors and 48 hospitals, CHC serves 150,000 members with the Medicaid State of Texas Access Reform (STAR) program, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the CHIP Perinatal program and now, the TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan. CHC is accredited by URAC for its health plan operations as well as four intensive case management/disease management programs. An affiliate of the Harris County Hospital District, CHC is financially self-sufficient and receives no financial support from the District or Harris County taxpayers.