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Felix Heymann is in the process of buying a Parcel Plus shipping and packing business in Rockville. So a meeting Wednesday in Rockville to discuss the state's new health insurance program was timely for him.

"I'm looking into applying for the program," Heymann said. "It sounds like it will help small companies like mine."

Some 1,500 small businesses are expected to enroll during the first year of the program designed to help subsidize health insurance costs. Companies can start registering Sept. 9 for the program that starts Oct. 1.

The meetings held this week from Hagerstown to La Plata covered details such as eligibility requirements and how to enroll.

About 30 business owners and health insurance brokers attended the Rockville meeting at the Maryland Technology Development Center, filling the room. The interest from businesses in the program is welcome, said Nicole Stallings, chief of government relations for the Maryland Health Care Commission, which is administering the program.

"We've been having good attendance," Stallings said. "We plan to keep speaking to groups that request us, such as chambers of commerce."

"We have a feeling this is going to go fast," said Ellen Valentino, Maryland state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, at the Largo meeting this week, urging employers to find out as much about the initiative as possible before September. "This will be a substantial reduction in health care costs for small businesses. You need to be ready."

With the start date looming, interested business owners should start talking with insurance brokers, Stallings said. Brokers assist with the subsidy application process and selection of a health plan. Insurers CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coventry Health Care, United HealthCare and Aetna have agreed to enroll companies in their plans under the program.

Rex Cowdry, executive director for MHCC, said word of the initiative has received a positive reception from the counties.

"Small employers would really like to be able to do something about healthcare for their employees," he said. "We hope to give them enough to get them off to a head start."

The plan calls for a subsidy of up to 50 percent of the insurance premium. The total subsidy is divided between the employer and the employee based on the contribution each makes toward the cost of coverage.

Leslie M. Swartzwelder, regional marketing executive for Allied Resource Management, a brokerage and benefits consulting company in Frederick, said many business owners either think all businesses are eligible for the program or do not know about the health insurance aid in the first place.

"That's why this type of meeting is essential," said Swartzwelder, who works out of the company's Gaithersburg office.

The program will have $15 million in state funds available to help small employers and their employees pay for health insurance during the initial year. The legislature approved the program late last year in its special session.

The plan is designed for small employers with two to nine full-time employees that have not offered health insurance to their employees during the previous year and have an average annual employee salary below $50,000. Employees cannot be temporary and have to work at least 30 hours per week.

There are about 64,000 businesses in the state with fewer than 10 employees, and more than half of those do not offer health insurance, Stallings said.

To receive the premium subsidy, employers must establish a Section 125 premium conversion plan and purchase a wellness benefit, which promotes preventive care and includes a health risk assessment, as part of the health plan.

A Section 125 plan allows premium payments to be withheld from workers' pay on a pre-tax basis, saving social security taxes for companies and income and social security taxes for employees.

Some business owners attending the meeting in Rockville this week acknowledged the new program would not immediately help them but could down the road or help someone they know. Wendy He, owner of a one-employee Gaithersburg bookkeeping service, said she could hire employees in the future if business increases.

"It's good to know what my options are," she said.

Lynette Jones-Dove, a dentist in College Park, asked whether the health care plans would include gym promotions since they had provisions for various wellness benefits. Health care providers will be responsible for deciding the aspects of benefit packages. Although state health officials could not comment on the packages, they said providers have some "interesting proposals" on the horizon.

Staff writer Lindsey Robbins contributed to this article.

This report originally appeared in The Business Gazette.