Coverage for the uninsured
New group plan offers 'free-agent' workers affordable health benefits
''If you own a car, pay rent, and have a child, you cannot afford luxuries like health insurance these days," said Janis, 33, of Shrewsbury. Under the new program, she and her child could get a basic healthcare plan for about $150 a month.
Called National Health Access, the group plan is the brainchild of 60 Fortune 500 companies that joined forces to attract insurers who would be willing to cover the firms' uninsured workers and their families -- a potential pool of about 3 million.
Many companies do not offer health insurance to part-time, temporary, seasonal, and contract workers, which forces some to go without coverage because of the high cost of buying it on their own.
Unlike employer-sponsored plans, however, the National Health Access plan will not receive funding from companies because many are trying to reduce expenses. Still, the plan offers low-cost alternatives like a $4- to $5-a-month medical discount card for in-network medical, dental, and pharmacy visits.
Since the firms broached the idea last year, new companies have joined, bringing the total number of firms to 90. Corporate participants include EMC,
The companies are hoping the plan will be an effective way to recruit professionals and reduce turnover among lower-wage workers who often leave jobs for better benefits or higher pay.
''In terms of attracting talent, this will put us in a great competitive position," said Delia Vetter, director of benefits at EMC, a data-storage firm in Hopkinton. ''Also, for those people who are 55 to 65 and have left our companies, this will make it more appealing to come back on a contract or temporary basis."
Vetter said EMC employs 14,000 nationwide, of which a few thousand workers will be eligible for the new plan.
The companies' efforts come as US employers have increased the number of contract and contingent workers on their payrolls in order to reduce labor costs, including the rising cost of employee healthcare.
In all, so-called free-agent workers made up about 22 percent of the US labor force last year, according to
Corporate supporters say the group plan will help reduce costs by chipping away at the size of the nation's uninsured pool, which includes about 45 million people. Of those, 275,000 reside in Massachusetts, according to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic group.
Health insurance premiums have gone up 60 percent since 2001, reports the Kaiser Family Foundation, and workers are feeling the pinch. Last year, for example, the average employee paid 7.5 percent more for healthcare.
Massachusetts employers are also grappling with escalating costs. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, a trade group that helped develop a group plan for its 7,600 members, estimates that employers' healthcare insurance costs have increased 50 to 60 percent over the past five years.
''Right now, a family plan is costing employers $10,000 per year or more for one employee and his dependents," said Andre Mayer, senior vice president of the trade group.
Greg Lee, senior vice president of human resources for Sears Roebuck and Co., says the program will make health insurance more affordable for 200,000 part-time Sears employees.
''One of the reasons that we do not pay the premiums of part-time employees is we cannot afford it," said Lee. ''So, this has to be absolutely affordable. It has to be a better deal than the individual market."
The new group plan offers six options, depending on the insurer, the region, and other factors. There's basic medical and dental coverage that costs $50 a month for a 35-year-old individual to a comprehensive plan that covers everything from preventive care to surgery for $150 to $340 a month. While the major medical plans come with high deductibles, they both cap annual out-of-pocket spending at $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for families.
United Healthcare will offer four lower-cost options in 50 states.
Doug Motchok, 47, of Needham, is considering the National Health Access plan because the coverage he received under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, expires this month.
He joined EMC in November after he was laid off by IBM after eight years. Motchok, who is in project management, now works as a contractor.
For Motchok, the estimated $2,000 monthly price tag for private insurance is prohibitive.
''The good thing about the new group plan that EMC will offer is that it has a variety of levels of coverage based upon individual needs," he said.
Diane E. Lewis can be reached at dlewis@globe.com.
