What Happened?
Three cities in Michigan recently teamed up to launch an employee wellness clinic at no additional cost to participants.
Goal
All municipal employees of Royal Oak, Ferndale and Madison Heights in Michigan have access to a health and wellness center that is designed to improve employee health while reducing each city’s healthcare costs. The health and wellness clinic offers employees and their spouses and dependents with primary care medical services including:
- Management of chronic illness and conditions
- Health risk assessments
- Lab testing
- Limited generic prescriptions
- Wellness programs and coaching
All services provided in the health and wellness center are free to all participants, including specific prescriptions and lab work. This can save money for employees who typically spend at least $30 for an office visit copay and a minimum of $10 for generic prescriptions.
In addition, each participating city is expected to save significantly due to reduced employee healthcare costs in the long term. The cities have a three-year interlocal agreement with the clinic provider. If 35 percent of employees take advantage of the services it is estimated more than $100,000 will be saved over the course of the contract for each municipality, with Royal Oak in particular standing to save more than $480,000, C and G News reported.
By having more than one city enter into the agreement with the clinic provider, each municipality is able to spend less while offering high-quality services.
Wisconsin Clinic
Another health and wellness clinic recently opened for local public employees in Wisconsin. Employees of the Oshkosh Area School District, Winnebago County and the city of Oshkosh will all have access to the wellness center that aims to provide primary care services at no cost to participants, The Northwestern reported.
The health and wellness clinic is focused on providing:
- Acute and treatment-based care
- Wellness preventative care
- Disease management coordination
- Employee education
- Lifestyle coaching
Currently, the clinic is staffed by two medical assistants, a physician and a physician’s assistant. More staffing may be required in the future if utilization rates increase, The Northwestern reported.
The Wisconsin Counties Association’s Group Health Trust – the county and school district’s insurance provider – awarded a $500,000 grant to help pay for the $1.3 million project. The city of Oshkosh offers its employees a self-funded insurance plan. This enabled the group to avoid negotiating with an insurance provider when deciding to participate in the clinic.
While the school district will pay 50 percent of the total costs of the health and wellness clinic in the first year, the county will cover 30 percent and the city will pay 20 percent. A similar health and wellness clinic opened in nearby Sheboygan County where patient wait times were a third of those in traditional physician offices and overall healthcare cost increases slowed to 3 percent annually compared to 8 percent for similar plans, The Northwestern reported.
Related Stories
Kanawha County Wellness Plan Spurs Savings City-Wide Wellness Grants How Gov Spending Triggers Strategy Shifts