It’s no surprise many Greater Lansing small business owners are struggling to pay rising health insurance premiums.

The Kaiser Family Foundation, in its annual survey of health insurance, found the average premium rose a whopping 9 percent this year to $15,073 for an employer-sponsored family plan. CNN reports insurance premium costs will likely continue surging 10 to 20 percent annually for small businesses.

Given these findings, it’s also no surprise that the need for the Ingham Health Plan (IHP) is growing.

What is surprising, however, is the Greater Lansing area’s lack of awareness about the value IHP offers to employees and small business owners who cannot afford to pay for health insurance. A recent survey of Ingham County residents revealed an overwhelming majority say they have little or no knowledge of the Ingham Health Plan.

That’s why we have embarked on an unprecedented effort to raise IHP’s visibility.

We all know someone who could use the Ingham Health Plan. Because the main barrier to enrollment is not knowing that IHP exists, our goal is to heighten awareness about the program and the value and benefits it delivers to Ingham County. We’re meeting with healthcare providers, businesses, policymakers, nonprofits, neighborhood councils, clubs, advocacy groups, senior citizen groups, churches and others to spread the word.

IHP has enlisted former Ingham County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Dean Sienko and other supporters to engage in our new public education campaign.

Here is what we are telling audiences.

IHP has achieved a national reputation as a leading community-sponsored program for people without medical coverage. We’ve helped more than 60,000 low-income, uninsured Ingham County residents since the plan’s creation in 1998.

Today, IHP delivers healthcare access at little or no cost to more than 12,000 Ingham County adults who otherwise lack access to basic, medically needed health services. Our members are Ingham County residents who make less than $26,000 annually (or families of four who make less than $55,000 annually, for example) and do not have other health coverage.

IHP is not insurance. It’s a basic, no-frills alternative to traditional health insurance.

IHP members range from people who are out of work or have part-time jobs to low-wage earners and recently laid-off workers who—often through no fault of their own—have lost their jobs and are not eligible for other publicly funded healthcare. Some of our members include waitresses or hairdressers, construction workers or sales clerks whose employers either do not offer health insurance or who cannot afford to pay the high cost of premiums.

And our impact goes beyond the uninsured.

We also help:

•    Attract employers, jobs and economic growth by providing a safety net for Ingham County’s uninsured

•    Make businesses more productive by lowering employee sick days and absenteeism

•    Save emergency room services for real emergencies

•    Reduce the $40 million cost of uncompensated care for Ingham County’s two hospital systems

•    Control health insurance costs for all insured workers, families and employers

This program—supported by Ingham County’s two major healthcare providers, Sparrow Health Systems and Ingham Regional Medical Center—benefits those who enroll and the entire community of Ingham County.

Without the Ingham Health Plan, the uninsured are forced to get medical services at emergency rooms, the least efficient and most costly form of healthcare. Those fortunate enough to have health insurance help pay for the cost of uncompensated care, equal to more than $1,500 per insured family in Ingham County.

By giving hard-working Ingham County residents a hand up—and not a handout—IHP has created a safety net for the uninsured that helps increase workplace productivity, decrease demand for expensive emergency room services, and lower the cost we all pay for uncompensated medical care in Ingham County.

Tell your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues about the Ingham Health Plan today.

		Robin Reynolds is the executive director of Ingham Health Plan. Contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .