Unique health coverage program will be focus of March business luncheon

Two representatives from HealthShare, a Duluth-based “community health coverage program,” will explain what HealthShare offers Cook County’s small businesses and their employees at Higher Education’s March Business Networking Luncheon. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 27, at Higher Ed’s North Shore Campus. The program will conclude by 1 p.m. Cost is $15.

HealthShare executive director Jenny Peterson and business services representative Wyn Mathews will explain how the program works and how it collaborates with health care organizations and the communities it serves. Several Cook County employers already have signed on with HealthShare. HealthShare is unique in Minnesota and one of only a handful of similar organizations nationwide. It provides coverage to the uninsured – including many part-time employees – who work for small businesses that cannot afford health benefits.

HealthShare costs employers and employees about $60 each per month, with the remainder financed by Generations Health Care Initiatives, a foundation in Duluth; St. Luke’s; Essentia Health; Northland Foundation; Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation; and others. In past years, the program has received significant federal and state grants to sustain the program. A key feature of HealthShare is its strong emphasis on behavior change to promote health and wellness.

To register for the program (formerly known as the Women’s Business Networking Luncheon), call (218) 387-3411 or email jboyd@northshorecampus.org by noon on March 25.