HMSA health subisdy extended until March
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
With more job layoffs expected after the holiday season, the Hawai'i Medical Service Association said it will extend its program to subsidize health care benefits for workers who lost their jobs in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Workers losing their company-paid health benefits up through March 31 will be eligible to receive a subsidy of 50 percent of the health care premium for adults and 100 percent for children for up to four months. The program's eligibility period was to end Dec. 31, with payments limited to three months.
"We've seen the effects of our depressed economy pick up over the past few months," said Cliff Cisco, senior vice president for HMSA. "More layoffs are occurring, and more families are in need of assistance. So our board of directors has acted to expand our Member Protection Program so more families can be helped."
Since Sept. 11, more than 39,000 people have filed new unemployment claims with the state Labor Department; it is estimated that 80 percent of those claims are from people in tourism or related industries who have been laid off or had their hours cut.
And while the state estimates that the number of first-time weekly unemployment claims statewide appears to be plateauing — at about 2,600 to 2,700 people — that's still twice as high as before the attacks.
HMSA said more than 2,000 people have taken advantage of its program since it was launched Oct. 2. Of the people enrolled in the program, 1,468 are on O'ahu, Cisco said. About 334 are from Maui, 112 on the Big Island, 54 on Kaua'i and six on Moloka'i and Lana'i. About 100 people taking advantage of the program are from outside Hawai'i.
HMSA is also providing medical coverage at no cost to nearly 500 children statewide, Cisco said.
The state Department of Human Services is offering its own health insurance program called "9/11 Net" to provide temporary medical coverage to people who lose their jobs.
"This is known affectionately as 'Skinny Quest,' " said Susan Chandler. "What that means is that it is a smaller package of health benefits than other programs the department offers and is for people who lost their jobs or who had reduced work hours following Sept. 11," Chandler said.
The state program charges a premium of $63 a month for each person covered and must be paid by the 20th of each month for coverage the following month. For more information on the state program, O'ahu residents should call 692-7980 and Neighbor Island residents can call 800-574-0911.
HMSA had projected its subsidy program would cost about $50 million under the company's "worst case" projections. But layoffs in the state have not been as wide or deep as HMSA expected and only $34 million of the fund has been used so far.
The $50 million to pay for the program is coming from HMSA's financial reserves, which were estimated at more than $500 million last year. But the company said operating losses from its medical insurance business, declines in its investment portfolio, and paying for the subsidy program has cut the company's reserves by millions of dollars.
HMSA has returned money to its members two other times: $25 million in 1996 and $22 million in 1998.
"This is one of those emergencies where we all need to pull together and support one another," said Robert Hiam, HMSA's president and chief executive officer.
Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088, or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com.
