The city of Columbus, Lowndes County and Columbus Light and Water may soon partner for a shared primary health care provider.
Representatives from each of the three entities convened at Cox Consulting on Tuesday morning for a question-and-answer session with Mississippi-based provider Medical Analysis.
The entities could partner with Medical Analysis for a shared, comprehensive primary health care center to provide medical care for their insured employees.
Medical Analysis Vice President for Business Development Todd Garlington said if that agreement comes to fruition, city, county and CLW employees will have a place to go for primary care without having to pay a copay.
“Especially when you get into sick season, it can be very difficult to get in and see someone in the fall,” Garlington said. “So one (benefit) would be the convenience factor for employees because it is a closed clinic only accessible to employees in the groups who are using it.
“Also, all dependents of employees who are on that entity’s health plan have access to that clinic for no charge — no copay, no deductible associated with the visit to the nurse practitioner, and any diagnostic or lab work we do in the clinic is at no charge,” he added. “So there’s a significant savings to employees, not only financially, but with time away from work and absenteeism.”
Saving money on claims
Garlington said the clinic should also save money for the city, county and CLW by reducing insurance claims. Medical Analysis offers on-site or shared site clinical services to several public and private businesses across the state, including the cities of Biloxi, Hattiesburg and Jackson, as well as the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi.
“In a self-funded insurance plan, the city pays based on utilization of that plan,” he said. “The goal here would be to potentially drive primary care claims into our clinic, which would mean a reduction in the usage of those claims on their health plan.”
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said the city has been struggling with growing insurance costs lately. In fact, the city insurance commission reports nearly $1.4 million in claims for Columbus employees and dependents in the past nine months. Claim numbers for the county and CLW weren’t made available by press time.
“I’m on the (city) insurance commission, and it’s scary what we’ve been looking at over the last couple of months,” Box said. “I don’t know if (Lowndes County and CLW) are wrapped up in the same situation but this insurance is getting almost out of out of hand. I see this as an opportunity for us to really cut those costs and the numbers I’ve been shown.”
Garlington said it’s difficult to project exactly how much an entity will save, but he said those that switch to Medical Analysis save an average of about $500 per employee per year
During a city insurance commission meeting Tuesday afternoon, Columbus Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell said savings for the city could go beyond just reduced claims. Medical Analysis offers other services such as preventative care, drug and alcohol screening and physicals. Mitchell said Columbus Fire and Rescue alone spends more than $20,000 a year on physicals.
Mitchell said Medical Analysis approached the city about 18 months ago, and conversations have been ongoing since then. She said requests for proposals for the project aren’t needed, because it’s a professional service.
Clinic details
In order for the agreement to work, all three entities must agree to be a part. Garlington said the plan needs at least 500 people, and the city, county and CLW have about 600 employees total.
Garlington said the clinic would have two permanent staff — a nurse practitioner and a licensed practical nurse. He said two staffers typically work with a patient population of up to about 1,000 people. Medical Analysis works to maintain a less than one hour visit time, from entering the clinic to leaving, and he said if the patient population grows to the point that that isn’t feasible, the clinic add more staff.
Employees won’t have to leave their personal physician, should the agreement come to fruition. Garlington said Medical Analysis has found the clinic helps serve an under diagnosed population, which helps general health. He said the clinic also issues referrals to physicians and specialists if needed.
Two locations for the clinic are up for consideration. One is a property on Military Road, across the street from Lee Middle School. The other is in a shopping center on Military Road, near the Lion Hills Country Club. The space is on the end of the shopping center by Neel-Shaffer engineering firm.
Tim Cox, an insurance agent who works with each of the three groups, said the first option is expandable, if needed, though he added that the second is fine if there’s no foreseen need to expand.
‘We need to look out for our employees’
Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor said, after questions arose during the meeting about what would happen with local doctors, that the city, county and CLW need to focus on their employees.
“Our job is to take care of the people who are under us, not looking at Baptist Memorial,” Taylor said. “We all know about Baptist — they’re a big part of our community. All the doctors’ offices out there are a big part of the community. They’re taxpayers. We love the to death for what they do in this city and county. But we need to look out for our employees, guys.”
Earlier in the meeting, Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks expressed a similar sentiment.
“No disrespect for doctors, but what we are trying to do is look out for people who work for us,” he said. “Not just people who work for us as a government entity–we’re trying to save money too.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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