Healthy Howard is a county-sponsored health care program offered to certain uninsured residents of Howard County, Maryland. The program, which provides doctors visits and prescription drugs, has been nationally hailed as a model to offer health care to local lower income people without health insurance. [1]
The program started on October 1, 2008, with a plan to accommodate 2,200 people in a salary range of $35,000 to $63,600 for a family of four. [2] Plans were to increase this number by 2000 enrollees each year thereafter. [3]
Services are also offered to those who become unemployed. [4]
The program is open to those who make between 117% and 300% of the federal poverty income level and are not eligible for Medicaid. It costs between $50 and $80 monthly, and it provides physician visits and prescription drugs. [1] [5]
It is not considered a health insurance program and does not cover any care received outside the boundaries of Howard County. [3]
The program, which costs $2.8 million annually to operate, is funded with a combination of premiums, county funds, and private donations [6] [3]
The program has shown to be difficult to sell, falling below expectations. Initially, the county had presumed that they would need to hold a lottery to determine which of the county's 15,000 uninsured residents would be getting its 2,200 slots. [7]
It was found that many when they attempted to sign up for the Healthy Howard program were actually eligible for other health care programs.
 | This article needs to be updated.(October 2014) |
It has been predicted that if national health care reform is passed, there will be no need for Healthy Howard to continue. Some, however, believe the program can be converted into a health insurance plan. [1]
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