Employer Healthcare Strategies

As mentioned in a recent survey on Employer-Sponsored Health Plans by Mercer, the average total health benefit costs for employers rose 3.9% in 2014. Simply put, our nation is consuming more health care than it can afford. 

With growing concern on Health Reform and how it will impact organizations in the coming years, it is vital for employers to proactively seek ways to combat the declining health of their workforce and the cost associated with it.

Enter Direct Primary Care and On-Site Medical Clinics. These convenient, barrier-free alternatives to the traditional health care delivery model offer a chance for employers to take control of rising health care costs by proactively improving the health of their workforce.

Sound too good to be true? It's not. Check out some common on-site medical clinic myths we've debunked below.

The recent emergence of onsite clinics as a "popular" solution to rising health care costs has allowed employers, large and small, to enhance their employee health plans without disrupting the overall design. More surprising though, the rapid growth in these "member only" facilities may be having an indirect (and positive) impact on the entire health care system. 

Mike LaPenna is Principal and founder of The LaPenna Group, Inc. and provides strategic and financial consulting services to the health care industry. For twenty-five years, he has provided support to physicians, hospitals, provider networks, and employers for their strategic and tactical initiatives.

Mike is widely considered a thought leader in the on-site clinic arena. He has published a book on the concept and runs the industry-leading blog, onsiteclinics.org. 

Thinking about investing in a worksite clinic? Many companies are. As more Americans gain coverage and the shortage of primary care providers intensifies, more employers are investing in worksite clinics. Among employers with 5,000 or more employees, 29% have a worksite clinic that provides primary care services, up from 24% in 2013 according to a recent Mercer survey.

While worksite clinics have been in existence for nearly 30 years, new medical management and business models have emerged over time. Most contemporary vendors offer nimble medical management services with technologically advanced tools and programs to assist patients throughout the continuum of care. The result is quality, cost-effective patient care that yields savings.

So what should you consider when choosing an onsite clinic vendor? Here is a list of five questions to help you field vendors and determine which will provide quality service and real savings.

Chronic disease and associated complications are typically the main health care cost drivers of businesses today. Burdened with overworked providers, inefficient and wasteful delivery methods, a misaligned reimbursement system, and poor management of health records, the current US health care system isn't providing the level of care, or value, that most employers now expect.

By this time, Health Reform has already become somewhat of a reality for most companies. Whether big or small, a new report finds the number of employers adopting on-site primary care clinics continues to grow as companies seek new ways to take control of their health care spend, while simultaneously improving the health and productivity of their workforce.

Many employers continue to assume that only a small number of organizations are adopting on-site strategies. The data, however, seems to argue otherwise.

Imagine you are a primary care physician (PCP), fresh out of school. You've just put in 10+ years of training, and you're ready to officially start your career as a medical provider. Your dream is to provide a high level of care for people in your community, build strong relationships with co-workers, vendors, and patients, continue to build upon your knowledge base, and make great money so that you can support a family.

Sounds awesome, huh?  

Not so fast.

Hey, it's Madeline! With the launch of our new website this week, I thought it would be appropriate to provide a quick overview of CareATC® and where we came from. Most of our blog posts aren't this narcissistic, but every once in a while, I think it's appropriate to remind our readers of the heritage behind our brand. I promise I'll keep this short and sweet.