Harris County Healthcare Alliance to Provide Affordable Healthcare to 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.

In a release, the group noted that 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."

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."