WINTHROP – Small business co-owner Brian Ketchen of Dave’s Appliances says the coverage he plans to buy from the state’s new Dirigo Choice looks attractive.

Dave’s Appliance already provides full coverage to workers. But under Dirigo, most would see their health costs go down, Ketchen believes. While workers will have to start paying premiums – discounted because of their lower salaries – Ketchen figures that because their high deductibles will be cut in half, most will ultimately pay less.

And the cost to his business to provide insurance will go down. “It’s a relief,” Ketchen says.

But over in Lisbon, the owners of Furniture Superstore had a different reaction: Dirigo is too expensive. Cheaper insurance with higher premiums is still the way to go, they say.

Some Furniture Superstore workers now buy individual plans that the company helps pay for, said co-owner Rheal Harps. Those workers have an annual deductible of $5,000. Monthly premiums are $19 a week for single workers, $76 for workers with families. Under Dirigo those costs would double, Harps said.

“It’s better insurance, but it’s double the money,” he said. “If I went to my guys in the warehouse and said, You’re paying $19 now, do you want to pay $37 or $38 with Dirigo?'” they would say no, he said, adding they “want to see the dollars” in their paychecks.

“When I first heard about Dirigo I thought it was going to be affordable. I feel the plan is too expensive,” Harps said. Dirigo is good for those in low-paying jobs who qualify for discounts, Harps said, adding that most of his employees don’t qualify.

Reaction from Ketchen and Harps illustrate how Dirigo is selling in the marketplace, say those fielding calls and offering quotes: It’s a mixed bag. Cost estimates provided by the state show that, overall, Dirigo is not significantly different in price than what’s in the market, unless the worker qualifies for a discount. In those cases it can be much cheaper.

Some small businesses, especially those not providing health care to workers, are getting sticker shock when they hear what Dirigo costs, said Dan Rioux of Rioux Insurance in Lewiston.

“We had an employer call who wanted to offer health care to his workers,” Rioux said. After the employer understood it would cost him $186 a month for each of his eight workers, “he said, This isn’t what I expected,'” Rioux said. He concluded his small business could not afford Dirigo. “He was disappointed. His workers never got a chance to apply.”

Since Oct. 1, Rioux has received 30 or 40 calls from people wanting to know about Dirigo. Of those, he’s sent six applications to people intending to take the coverage, which begins Jan. 1.

According to estimated costs from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for its preferred provider option plan, Dirigo’s cost is not much different for workers who don’t qualify for discounts.

David Clough, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said he’s not hearing of many small business members signing up.

“They’re evaluating the product, taking a look at the premium costs. For many, the real decision is the premium costs, not just the benefit package.” Those familiar with what health care costs aren’t surprised by the prices, Clough said. But those not offering insurance are.

“Dirigo is intended to be a generous insurance package,” he said. “Supporters say you get a lot of bang for your buck. Skeptics say businesses only have so many bucks.”

There is greater interest among the self-employed, many of whom are dropping their catastrophic plans with $5,000 annual deductibles and enrolling in Dirigo, said Scott Boucher of Barresi Insurance in Bangor.

Some self-employed individuals pay $180 a month with an annual $5,000 deductible, Boucher said. They’re enrolling in Dirigo for $330 a month. Dirigo costs more, “but it has richer benefits, including a drug card,” Boucher said. “It’s a tool for the individual with catastrophic plans.”

People don’t understand how inexpensive Dirigo is for low-wage workers who qualify for the discounts, said Trish Riley, director of the Governor’s Office on Health Policy and Finance.

“Where people think it’s expensive are the people who don’t get subsidies, who are paying the full cost,” Riley said. “What’s worrisome is people see the cost without the discount, and say I can’t afford it.’ Nobody’s spent the time with them to say, Wait, wait, wait a minute. Look at the discount program.’ It’s a two-part program: the coverage and the discounts.”

Sharon Roberts of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the company hired by the state to deliver Dirigo, acknowledged, “This is not a cheap plan. It’s a rich plan design with a full array of preventative care, no pre-existing conditions, a drug card. … Those things are valuable benefits, but they do come with expense.”

It’s important, Anthem’s Bill Cohen said, to understand “that premiums reflect the cost of the health care system. Hospital and other provider care is more expensive in Maine than other states, he said. When that fact is coupled with another – Mainers’ incomes are lower than in other states – “we have a gap,” Cohen said. “High health care costs is a serious problem.”