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While Congress debates various medical insurance reform bills, Frederick County employers are trying to keep up with changes and keep insurance costs low for themselves and their employees.

Grove Resource Solutions, a Frederick technology and engineering company, offers medical insurance to its 240 employees, according to Beth Shepherd, director of customer and employee relations.

In light of the recession, the company has tried to offer a benefit package that rivals those of bigger employers, Shepherd said, while finding other ways to augment coverage. For example, employees can have live-at-home children up to 26 years old on the company plan.

Grove also offers pet insurance — "really great coverage," Shepherd said.

"We find ways to spread coverage and eliminate risk," Shepherd said. "As an employer we are always shopping for ways to invest in coverage to make our employees feel we are working with them."

As a small employer hit by rising costs, Grove is hardly alone.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius cited a new report Tuesday that found that on average, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large employers for the same health insurance.

"Small-business owners are the backbone of this economy," Sebelius said. "They are the entrepreneurs who drive our business innovations and inventions and [are] being squeezed at the heart of the current system of health care in America."

Frederick Memorial Hospital, whose medical insurance costs for its employees have risen 4.5 percent over the last three years, tries to promote employee health, with wellness programs for workers with conditions such as obesity or diabetes.

Participating employees will receive a 10 percent discount on insurance premiums, said Terry O'Malley, vice president of human resources.

President and CEO Thomas A. Kleinhanzl said he believes focusing on wellness and education creates more personal accountability for employee health. He compared the insurance debate in Congress to baking a cake.

"There are a lot of ingredients," he said. "There is a tremendous merging of many bills and proposals."

‘Hoping for answers'

There is a "lot of confusion out there" with insurance reform, according to Arnold William Butts, a financial and insurance adviser with Turning Point Benefit Group of Frederick. Many people have "real concerns without answers at this point," he said.

"There are still lots of people without coverage who are hoping for answers but don't know," he said.

The cost of both insurance coverage and health care has been rising for some time, he said, which he attributed to inflation and other factors.

"Add to that the additional number of layoffs we've seen lately and the extra number of individuals now needing to find individual coverage, often at higher monthly costs than they were paying on their previous group plan," Butts said.

"On the employer side, we're seeing a declining trend in the number of employers that offer coverage as well as how much the employer contributes toward the monthly premiums," he said.

This can sometimes lead to employers offering less generous plans, with employees paying more, or in the worst-case scenario, dropping the group health plan entirely, he said.

Sharmina Manandhar of Capital News Service contributed to this report.