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Gaining Traction for HUSKY
State seeks employers as allies in campaign to secure health insurance for all state's children
By Susan Beck
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Business New Haven
6/20/2000
By: Michele Beck
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In 1997, President Clinton signed into law the largest funding expansion for children's health coverage in more than 30 years, creating the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Under CHIP, each of the 50 states was encouraged to start its own program - with the help of $4 billion in annual federal funding - to provide health coverage for children in working families.
Some states have come up with clever names for their programs - Cub Care in Maine, Dr. Dinosaur in Vermont, Connecticut's own HUSKY Plan - which reflect the states' commitment to a user-friendly approach to attract as many parents as possible.
Unanimously approved by the state legislature in a special session in the fall of 1997, HUSKY has earned high marks for its success in meeting the needs of families with uninsured children. In a 50-state survey conducted by the Children's Defense Fund comparing the new state programs for eligibility, cost, available services and ease of enrollment, HUSKY ranked as one of the top four plans in the nation.
However, there remain in Connecticut tens of thousands of uninsured children. According to HUSKY's David Dearborn, before the plan the number of uninsured children was estimated at roughly 90,000. Dearborn says that it is almost impossible to say just how much this figure has been reduced over the last two years, but that the number of uninsured children remains high.
While employers do not administer the HUSKY Plan, and cannot enroll employees, businesses remain one of HUSKY's chief allies in the campaign to get the word out about the program to families.
HUSKY is a composite, Dearborn explains, that incorporates the old Medicaid benefits and a benefits package that is available to families whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid. Children up to age 19 who formerly would have qualified for Medicaid can enroll in Husky Part A, which means that they get the full benefits package with no premium payments and no co-pays.
Children whose family income is somewhat higher (between $31,542 and $51,150 for a family of four) can enroll in HUSKY Part B. This means that they get the same full benefits package, but make some co-pays and/or small premium payments as determined by a sliding scale.
Children whose family income is over the set maximum ($51,150 for a family of four) are still eligible to enroll in HUSKY if they are not covered by a parent's employer health insurance. Such families pay a group premium rate ranging from $138 to $202 per month per child, depending on the plan selected, including some co-payments.
Dearborn likes to stress that HUSKY is for children at all income levels, that it has no income limit. “We're trying to get away from those labels [HUSKY A and HUSKY B] at the front end,” he says. He notes that HUSKY should be of particular interest to self-employed parents who must purchase their own health insurance.
Dearborn points out that, no matter how much a parent earns, paying for one's own health insurance is a very costly proposition. He notes that the HUSKY Plan costs far less than it would cost to purchase a similar benefits package on the private market.
Not only does the HUSKY Plan make health coverage for children affordable. It also provides them with an excellent package of benefits designed specifically to meet the health needs of children.
It covers the recommended number of well-child exams recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 100 percent of hospital care, including lab work and X-rays, 100 percent of semi-annual dental checkups, X-rays, fillings and fluoride treatments, 100 percent of substance-abuse treatment.
The plan also picks up the lion's share of the cost of prescription drugs (a $3 co-pay on generics, $6 on brand names for those in HUSKY Part B), eye care ($5 co-pay for exams and up to $100 covered for lenses and frames every two years), and mental health care (ten outpatient visits fully reimbursed, with only a co-pay on the next 20, and up to 60 days in an inpatient facility fully covered.
Health care for HUSKY participants is provided by one of four participating managed-care organizations. Parents may choose from among Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Community Health Network, Preferred One and (For HUSKY Part A only) Physicians Health Services.
Children with special physical or behavioral health needs can qualify for additional coverage under the HUSKY Plus program.
The HUSKY Plan has sought to attract new enrollees through a multitude of tactics, including a new, friendlier image (personified by a Husky dog shown with an ethnically diverse group of kids) and new customer service features. The latter include the plan's own Web site (www.huskyhealth.com), two toll-free numbers (877-CTHUSKY and 800-656-6684), extended customer service hours, simplified application form, and over-the-phone application option.
Dearborn and his staff have also staged an ambitious marketing campaign to get the word out about HUSKY. This has included numerous radio advertisements (many on Spanish-language stations), a television spot on Channel 61, and outreach contracts with Hill Health Center, the New Haven health department, the Bridgeport Department of Social Services, and other similar agencies.
Full-time outreach workers also go into the schools and conduct workshops to train school nurses, social workers and guidance workers to be knowledgeable about HUSKY and explain it to parents.
Dearborn also sends staff members into businesses to conduct workshops. He stresses that employers need not get any more involved than offering to sponsor such a workshop - or at least making sure employees are provided with HUSKY literature. They do not need to enroll employees who attend; in fact new enrollees must be signed up by a HUSKY staffer. They need not, and in fact cannot, pay part of the premium for HUSKY Plan B participants. There are no opportunities for getting involved in a payroll-deduction plan.
One local business that recently invited HUSKY staffers in to address employees is Cedar Lane Rehabilitation & Health Care Center in Waterbury. “We have a very substantial health plan,” says J.P. Lyke, R.N., administrator for Cedar Lane, “but we have a lot of part-time and per-diem staff who are not eligible, and we have a lot of female staff. This has been a wonderful thing for our employees. Many of these people are making enough money - they work two jobs - but because they are not full-time they had no health care for their children.”
Lyke notes that she was especially pleased that the representatives who came included several who were fluent in Spanish, and that they brought brochures in both English and Spanish. “Dearborn's staff and my staff have developed a successful partnership,” she says.
Dearborn says HUSKY is not intended to replace any employer's own health care benefits for children.
“In no way are we encouraging employers to drop their programs,” he says. In fact, HUSKY imposes a six-month waiting period on children who were previously insured through a parent's employer-sponsored health care insurance and who now want to be enrolled in HUSKY Plan B. This is intended as a deterrent, so that parents will not drop existing health coverage because they prefer the HUSKY plan.
Obviously, the six-month waiting period does not apply to any child who qualifies for HUSKY Part A, or to children whose private health coverage has ceased because their mother or father lost their job.
HUSKY staffers have actually been quite involved in situations where a number of employees at a firm are laid off. They have worked closely with the Department of Labor's Rapid Response Teams when these respond to business closings. The HUSKY staff make sure that employees losing their jobs get proper information on transferring their children's health coverage to HUSKY.
Dearborn reports that there are currently 180,000 children enrolled in HUSKY. He is especially pleased with HUSKY's results with respect to increasing enrollment in HUSKY Part A, with today's figure showing a net increase of 25,000 over figures from the Medicaid days. The rise in HUSKY Part A enrollment he attributes to the staff's success in increasing people's awareness of the program and in overcoming wariness about getting involved in a government program.
He is concerned, however, that to date, only 6,000 of those enrolled are in Part B. “We still need to get the word out,” he acknowledges.
Dearborn urges those starting new businesses, who perhaps won't be providing health care coverage for employees' children at first, to make sure to include HUSKY brochures in all new employee packets.
For more information on how employers can help support HUSKY, call 860-424-5024.
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