Groups target making health care affordable for hospitality workers

With health insurance costs expected to rise again in 2008, a variety of local groups are looking for ways to make coverage more available and affordable.

The Hilton Head Island Hospitality Association has overhauled its year-old program to offer limited medical coverage to hospitality workers who aren't part of company group plans.

The new plan, called Basic Plus, is run by a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, said Sandra Bockley, a benefits consultant at BB&T Carswell Insurance Services, who set up the program.

The plan, which costs about $100 a month for an individual, will cover some costs associated with some doctor visits, hospital stays and even surgical costs, depending on what options the buyer chooses, Bockley said.

Bockley expects the program offered through the Blue Cross subsidiary to be popular. Now, "we need to figure out a way to market it," she said.

Employees at Michael Anthony's Cucina Italiana on Hilton Head Island will learn about the new program in a meeting next month, said owner Tony Fazzini.

Michael Anthony's offers health coverage for full-time employees, but had to switch to high-deductible plans and health savings accounts in recent years to offset costs that have been rising between 15 percent and 20 percent each year.

The majority of employees at Cucina's are part-time workers and don't qualify for the restaurant's group plan, he said.

"It leaves you at a competitive disadvantage if you can't offer those kinds of programs," Fazzini said.

The hospitality association's program makes it affordable for part-time workers to see a doctor if they are sick, something that benefits the employer, too, who will have a healthier work force, Fazzini said.

Coverage among hospitality workers is an issue on the island. About 28 percent of patients at the Volunteers in Medicine clinic on the island work in the food and beverage industry. Another 14 percent work in hotels and resorts, said Margie Maxwell, the clinic's development director.

The clinic will pass out information on the hospitality association's plan to those who don't qualify for the clinic, either because they don't live or work on the island or exceed the income threshold for the clinic, Maxwell said.

Sheree Malphrus, president of the Low Country Human Resources Association and director of operations at the McNair Law Firm, said most employers now offer some sort of health insurance to full-time employees. What's changed is how much of the burden the employer takes on, she said.

In recent years, that's dropped significantly from 100 percent at many workplaces. Sometimes the employer will pay for a core plan and employees have to pay for additional coverage they feel they need, Malphrus said.

There are efforts to help small businesses, too.

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce offers group health coverage at a discounted rate to members, covering businesses as small as one or two people.

A bill in the state legislature would allow as few as 10 small businesses to form a cooperative to seek a discount on group health care coverage.

That plan has come under fire from the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, which says it's just lip service because cooperatives that small won't help small businesses find affordable coverage. Current state law allows cooperatives, but only if there are more than 1,000 people in the group.

Another business advocacy group, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, supports the legislation, saying it is a step in the right direction in making health care more affordable.

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services contributed to this report.