Uninsured Reduced 8% In Howard County

COLUMBIA, Md. (WUSA) -- The number of people without health insurance in Howard County has been reduced by at least 8% as a controversial new initiative to provide universal health care to county residents kicks in to its first month of clinical operation, according to county health commissioner Dr. Peter Beilenson.

"No other place in the country is doing that," said Beilenson.

Beilenson is Chairman of the Board of the Healthy Howard Access Plan, an effort by the county, private foundations and local health providers to create universal health insurance coverage for all Howard County residents.

Some critics have called it socialized medicine but Beilenson says its the opposite. "It's completely private sector," he said, noting that participants pay anywhere from $50 to $110 to enroll in the program. About 60% of the health care cost comes from these fees.

The county has 15,000 to 20,000 uninsured residents, according to Beilenson. At least 1,100 have applied for the Healthy Howard Access Plan.

It has turned out that the vast majority qualified for subsidized assistance such as Medicaid and were directed into those plans by health officials, reducing the roles of the uninsured dramatically.

That's left only about 170 people so far to be enrolled in the Healthy Howard Access Plan. Beilenson expects at least 2000 will be enrolled by the end of 2009.

"I feel safe, its almost like a safe haven," said 24-year-old Shayla-Renee Little, a Howard County Community College student who was without health insurance until she qualified for the Healthy Howard Access Plan. Little is among the first to have check-ups and medical care covered by the plan, which she pays $50 per month for.