GALVESTON, Texas - The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will begin enrolling Galveston County employers in the 3-Share health benefits program on Monday, May 19.
The first of its kind in Texas, this two-year pilot program will allow qualified small business owners in the county to provide health benefits to their employees at reasonable rates.
"We hope to enroll about 500 employees," said Jim Rodriguez, executive director of the 3-Share plan. "Employees will begin receiving health benefits as early as July 1."
Under the plan, enrolled employers and employees each pay $60 per month. UTMB will pay the third $60 share, using money from a $1.6 million Houston Endowment grant and institutional funds.
To be eligible to participate, an employer must have at least two but not more than 50 eligible employees and at least half of the employees must enroll in the plan. The business must have been in operation for at least 12 months prior to enrollment and may not have provided group health insurance benefits to employees during that time.
The concept was modeled in part on a similar plan in Muskegon, Mich. It is the first such program in Texas. The Galveston plan received so much positive attention that it has not only become the model for multi-share benefits programs in other Texas communities, but was also the impetus for including similar programs in Senate Bill 10, the 80th Texas Legislature's omnibus Medicaid reform package.
Because of the Houston Endowment grant, UTMB is not dependent upon the state's Medicaid waiver application to use State Children's Health Insurance Program funds for the third share of the costs and is therefore able to move forward in implementing the 3-Share plan as a two-year pilot program.
For additional information, please contact executive director Jim Rodriguez at (409) 772-8865, email: jirodrig@utmb.edu or Fran Devine at (409) 772-8864, email: fhdevine@utmb.edu.