A $500,000 grant for Howard County?s health care access plan for people who are uninsured should prompt more donors to pony up for the program, officials said.
The Horizon Foundation grant announced Friday was a major step toward Howard?s $750,000 goal, but officials said they won?t stop raising money.
“This will make it much easier to get other funding,” said Dr. Peter Beilenson, Howard?s health officer.
“This makes a real statement.”
Howard?s health access plan, scheduled to launch in October, will provide doctor visits, reduced prescription drugs and specialty services for a low monthly fee.
The Horizon grant is seed money for the initiative, and county officials will continue raising money for future years and for an evaluation of the first year.
In the first year, officials aim to enroll 2,000 uninsured residents, which is expected to cost about $2.8 million. More than half of the cost will come from the monthly fees and the rest from county and private funding.
“This will always have a private sector partnership component,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said at a news conference announcing the grant.
The grant includesa contingency that the health department raise additional funding, said Rich Krieg, president of the foundation, a Columbia-based philanthropy focused on health and wellness.
Half of the money will be granted once the department raises $500,000 from any source, Krieg said. This is expected to come from the county, and Ulman?s budget request to the County Council will include this amount. The rest will be released after another $200,000 is raised.
Local philanthropies also will likely donate on the heels of Horizon?s announcement, Beilenson said.
Larger national foundations also should step up to the plate, Krieg said, and officials will be courting them for funds.
“They ought to see it as something they would support [as] an investment in new concept development,” he said.
Health care provider Aetna Inc. donated $56,000 to the plan, and announced earlier this week it will provide discounted dental care.
