Brooklyn HealthWorks, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s low-cost health insurance program that allows eligible Brooklyn-based small businesses to offer comprehensive health insurance to their employees, practically doubled the number of participants since reopening enrollment in October 2007, from 640 employees and family members to almost 1,100 total lives today. 

On Oct. 11, 2007, Brooklyn HealthWorks reopened enrollment after securing permanent program funding with the help of Senator Martin J. Golden (R-22nd District) and Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol (D-50th District).  Since then, Brooklyn HealthWorks has expanded rapidly and has employed grassroots efforts such as meeting local business owners via door-to-door service during last week’s Cover the Uninsured Week, a national campaign to reduce the number of uninsured Americans.

Senator Golden said, "Access to quality and affordable health care is something that many people take for granted.  However, that is not always the case.  Programs such as HealthWorks show that we can make real progress addressing a real program.  By providing health insurance to small business employees we are investing in the quality of life for our neighborhoods, borough, and ultimately, our great state."

Assemblyman Lentol said, "This program represents the best of the government and the private industry working together – and it is something that we should do more of.  What the Brooklyn Chamber needed was the incentive and the authority to create this program.  Once they received it, they did the hard work that is netting such fabulous results.  I am very proud to have worked with them on this issue."

The HealthWorks team visited over 200 Brooklyn businesses along retail strips and within manufacturing districts including Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, Bedford Stuyvesant, Canarsie and Sheepshead Bay.  Because of their efforts during this campaign, small businesses learned about Brooklyn HealthWorks and were able to enroll their employees for health coverage.

Brooklyn HealthWorks also will launch a new marketing campaign that includes ads in local newspapers and a radio campaign on 1010 WINS, which began airing on May 6.  With support from the New York State Health Foundation, the marketing efforts will help educate more employers about the program and, in turn, reduce the burden they face in securing health coverage for their employees and their families.

The Brooklyn HealthWorks program began in 2004 through a partnership with Group Health Inc. (GHI) and the New York State Department of Insurance, and allows participants to obtain care at over 142,000 provider locations throughout the tri-state area – without a referral.

For more information about the Brooklyn HealthWorks program, visit http://www.brooklynhealthworks.com/.