California Endowment Awards Grant to San Diego Business Group to Provide Health Plan Information to Employers

San Diego's Business Healthcare Connection will receive an $800,000 grant from the California Endowment to establish a "one-stop center" for small businesses seeking information on health insurance for their employees, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The grant will help the Business Health Connection -- a not-for-profit health care coalition of local business and government leaders, providers, health plans and consumers -- set up an 18-month pilot project to provide coverage information and educational materials about various health care plans and options. Richard Ledford, a Business Healthcare Connection representative, said, "This project makes it easier for small businesses to provide for their employees and at the same time learn about the tax advantage of providing health care coverage." Ledford added that the pilot project is designed for small-business owners but is available to all employers. The Union-Tribune reports that the Alliance Healthcare Foundation is granting $142,582 to the University of Southern California to evaluate the coalition's program (San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/12).