In October of 2001, the Coalition implemented the Genesee Health Plan (GHP) to provide quality medical care to the uninsured. With the support of state and federal funds, the plan enrolled 3,200 State Medical Program clients—primarily low-income adults who do not qualify for Medicaid.
The health plan replaced a state voucher system in Genesee County and broadened the basic benefit package to include physician, diagnostic, and pharmacy services administered by HealthPlus of Michigan. In February 2002, the program was expanded to cover an additional 5,500 uninsured individuals in Genesee County with income up to 150% of the federal poverty limit.
In April 2004, the GHP received an additional infusion of $3 million as part of the “Governor Granholm Challenge” initiative. With these funds, an additional 6,000 uninsured residents were covered by October 1, 2004.
Since its inception, the GHP has continued to expand. In November 2004, funding from the C.S. Mott Foundation, Ruth Mott Foundation, and Community Foundation of Greater Flint enabled coverage to extend to even more county residents by lifting income limits to 175% of the poverty level.
Recognizing a need for coverage of the working poor and low income residents, Genesee County voters generously approved a seven-year property-tax millage to further expand GHP coverage to 8,000 additional enrollees in November 2006.
In 2007, GHP introduced the Tri-Share Program to assist the county’s small businesses in providing basic healthcare coverage to employees and their families. The costs of coverage are shared by the enrollee, business, and program, with each paying one third. This continued push forward helps GHP as it progresses towards covering all uninsured adults up to 200% of the federal poverty level or 32,500 adults in 2008.
Operated as a separate organization, for more information on Genesee Health Plan visit http://countyhealthplans.org/