By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – A first in the state program to provide financial incentive for small business owners to enroll in the DirigoChoice health plan was announced in Farmington last week with a visit from Gov. John Baldacci.

In a joint effort between Franklin Community Health Network and the Greater Franklin Development Corp., Franklin Memorial Hospital will subsidize employers’ health insurance costs with the state’s new health plan using a $375,000 endowment grant. The Franklin County Development Council, a unit of the Greater Franklin Development Corp., will administer the program.

The program will pay 20 percent of employers’ cost in the first year of DirigoChoice coverage and 10 percent the second year, for small companies and self-employed workers who buy coverage for themselves or their workers.

Richard Batt, president of Franklin Memorial Hospital, owned by Franklin Community Health Network, said they hope to help 1,000 people get health insurance with the grant. Though he admitted the 1,000 number was a “wild guess,” he was quick to add that the hospital’s finance committee and board “clearly invited us to come back if money was running short.”

The DirigoChoice program requires employers to pay 60 percent of insurance premiums and employees to pay the remaining 40 percent. However, the state also built in an additional incentive for employees by providing subsidies for their costs through premium and deductible reductions based on the employee’s income and family status.

Kenneth Sparkes of Sparkes Hearing Services in Farmington decided on the plan even before the county incentive program was announced. A hearing aid specialist in practice with his audiologist wife, Sparkes employs one administrative assistant for whom he was unable to provide health insurance. He and his wife are currently enrolled in a private family plan with high deductibles but will be looking at enrolling in DirigoChoice next year after their daughter graduates from college.

The hospital’s grant brings the cost of insurance for his employee down significantly, he said. His portion of the premium for the plan would come to approximately $225 monthly. With the 20 percent subsidy, it comes to $180 monthly, saving him about $540 the first year.

“It wasn’t the thing that put me over the top but looking at it again, it’s a nice incentive. It’s very good for the business owner,” he said.

Sparkes’ administrative assistant, Linda Myhaver, said she’s been without insurance for more than three years.

“It’s like living with a wolf at the door,” she said of having no health insurance. At 58, she’s at an age where she never knows what’s going to fall apart next, she said. Her new insurance policy will take effect May 1.

“Health insurance is one of the best ways to recruit and retain the best employees,” said Leah Binder, vice president of Franklin Community Health Network.

The Franklin DirigoChoice incentive program is limited to small companies and self-employed workers who have not had health coverage in the last year. Workers must also live in the greater Franklin County area, which includes Livermore and Livermore Falls. Information on the program and an application are available at www.greaterfranklin.com.