Offering what its creators believe could be a model for affordable health insurance nationwide, a unique public-private partnership announced Tuesday a plan aimed at helping the estimated 600,000 uninsured in Miami-Dade County.

Called Miami-Dade Blue, the county worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida to develop a plan that would cost a healthy 35-year-old male about $100 a month.

''This is going to be not only cutting edge but truly a national model,'' said Janet Perkins of the Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning. ``This is not the sole solution to everyone's needs, but we have done our damnedest to make this work.''

Some insurance brokers are concerned that the benefits offered are less than in most popular plans, including a lack of coverage of branded prescription drug. ''There's a downside to this plan,'' said Sandra Foertsch of South Florida Health Insurance Services.

For those who have employer-based coverage, the new Blue plan may not seem like much, but local leaders say it's a vast improvement for those who now have nothing.

The concept of the new plan was first envisioned by Commissioner Joe Martinez about five years ago because he remembers that as a police officer, he often saw emergency rooms crowded with the uninsured who ened up there because they couldn't afford preventive care.

On Tuesday, Martinez said he felt like it was giving birth to a baby. ''I don't know how many times negotiations broke down and we had to go back to the drawing board,'' he said in an interview. ``It's been a long road, a hard road, but I'm extremely excited.''

After a deductible of $250, the plan pays 90 percent of in-network hospital costs and 100 percent of in-network lab tests. Generic drugs are available for a $10 co-payment.

A major challenge was getting providers to accept discounted fees. About 1,500 doctors agreed to be part of the Miami-Dade Blue network.

Blue Cross Market President Penny Shaffer said most of the in-network primary care doctors agreed to take about $50 for a basic office visit, which is the amount the plan will pay. Specialists will cost patients more.

20 CLINICS

Twenty community clinics are in the network -- including CHI, Borinquen and Miami Beach Community Health Center. Seven hospitals are in network -- the three Jackson facilities; Tenet's Palmetto General, Hialeah and Coral Gables; and the Baptist system's Homestead Hospital.

On Tuesday, Martinez joked to a Baptist official at the press conference: ''Maybe we can get you to sign up the rest of Baptist.'' Baptist Health South Florida also runs Baptist, South Miami and Doctors hospitals.

The county helped shape the plan, which Blue Cross won in a competitive bid process, but it's not costing tax payers anything. Miami-Dade Blue is being offered to individuals up to age 65 and to small employers with up to 50 workers.

The plan was created as a traditional preferred provider organization, with no pre-approvals and no gatekeepers.

Shaffer emphasized that the hope is the plan could significantly reduce the number of uninsured in the county but is ``is not a panacea.''

The insurer has the right to reject individuals who the plan thinks might be too costly.

Uninsured individuals with heavy medical needs are likely to be rejected, although businesses will be guaranteed coverage if 70 percent of employees participate and the owner pays at least 50 percent of the premiums.

LOW PREMIUMS

To make Miami-Dade Blue affordable, Perkins and Shaffer said the plan was designed to have low premiums and low co-pays, while having a fairly low annual out-of-pocket limit of $2,500 a year and a lifetime benefit of $5 million.

''This may be the first time that many are accessing care, so they could have fairly high claims activity,'' Shaffer said.

A similar product, Blue Select, is being rolled out in Broward, but without government participation, Shaffer said. The Broward product is aimed at small companies.

Foertsch, the insurance broker, noted some deficiencies of the Dade plan: It doesn't cover branded drugs, although patients can pay a Blue-negotiated price. A trip to the emergency room can get expensive -- $500 per visit, plus 10 percent for a nonsurgical, in-network ER. For an out-of-network, nonsurgical ER trip, it's $1,000 per visit plus $750 annual deductable plus 40 percent of all charges.

Shaffer said the charges are based on the best deals that could be negotiated with the hospitals and Miami-Dade Blue was not intended to compete with existing health coverage. ``Eighty percent of the uninsured have some kind of work -- often two part-time jobs -- but aren't offered healthcare at work.''

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