PRESS RELEASE

Onsite Employee Health Centers Bring Cities Success

City Government Clients of CareHere Crowne LLC Cut Costs While Improving Care.

April 12, 2017 (Ocoee, Fla.) – The benefits planning team at Crowne Consulting Group reports enhanced care and lower medical costs for city governments providing onsite and near-site health and wellness centers for employees, retirees, and dependents.

Employers had faced relentless increases in healthcare expenditures for years. In an effort to control budgets and save taxpayer dollars, many Florida cities turned to self-funding and worksite healthcare models as a way to control medical costs, while preventing and managing chronic conditions.

“On average, the operation and administration costs for onsite health centers are 30 to 70 percent less than what employers are paying under the fee-for-service model,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group.

Onsite health centers provide plan members with cost-free access to primary care clinic services, chronic care, screenings, lab work, X-rays, EKG, generic prescriptions, and wellness programs including exercise, nutrition, and smoking cessation. Florida cities opting for worksite care include Ocala, Ocoee, Apopka, Sanford, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Sarasota, Leesburg, Mount Dora, Deland, and others.

The City of Oviedo, a CareHere Crowne LLC client, has experienced success with onsite care and wellness programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles. The city won the 2016 Healthy Weight Community Champion from The Florida Department of Health. Since opening its employee health and wellness center in March 2010, the city reduced medical care costs while improving care.

The Annual Survey on Employer Health Benefits by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated five percent of employers with at least 50 employees offered health services through an on-site health clinic. The 2016 survey interviewed over 1,000 non-federal public and private firms. Approximately 25 percent of larger firms with at least 1,000 workers offer onsite care benefits.

About Crowne Consulting Group:  Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, provides administrative oversight services for worksite health and wellness centers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance.  Crowne serves public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, sheriff offices, as well as private organizations.  Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Call 407-654-5414 for more information.

Healthy Town, USA

Oviedo-Winter Springs Life, March/April 2017

By Jill Cousins

LifeMagazineThe City of Oviedo, a client of CareHere Crowne LLC, has been featured in Oviedo-Winter Springs Life magazine, a premier lifestyle publication dedicated to publishing positive and uplifting stories about the local community.

Since opening its health center in March of 2010, the city reduced health cost trends and improved care for plan members.  Enjoy this feature article about the city’s wellness programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles.  Read the article (PDF)


In case you missed it, visit Crowne’s “In the News” page for a full list of recent news articles, including a healthcare reform Q&A in the Orlando Business Journal.

Crowne Consulting Group was recently featured in American City & County Magazine for its expertise for serving governments and municipalities.  See the excerpt below and visit the magazine link to read this entire article.

Bankrolling benefits

Local governments’ varied responses to the Affordable Care Act
http://americancityandcounty.com/health-reform/bankrolling-benefits

By Derek Prall, American City and County Magazine, Feb. 2015

Excerpt:Onsite Care “…Regardless of the number of employees affected, the ACA has created numerous challenges for Human Resources departments – especially those with constrained budgets. Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, an organization helping business and governments set up health clinics, says in this way, local governments are no different than their private sector counterparts. “[Because of the ACA,] employers are experiencing additional oversight, restrictions and costs,” he says. From a local government standpoint, there is now less management discretion at designing benefits packages that would help keep costs low, Tomlinson says.

However, municipalities are increasingly looking to an outside-the-box solution, Tomlinson says, opening onsite or near-site health clinics. These facilities cut down on costs by lowering the number of claims made by covered employees and thus lowering expenses across the board.

“The Affordable Care Act has actually created – even if unintentionally – an opportunity for employers to take a look at the onsite or near-site clinic or heath center as an option to run alongside of their health plan,” says Tomlinson.

Several municipalities have opened health clinics in the past few years, including ….”

Read this full article at: http://americancityandcounty.com/health-reform/bankrolling-benefits.  Contact Crowne Consulting Group at 407-654-5414 for more information about onsite health and wellness centers.

Enhanced Employee Benefits and Onsite Care Bring Lower Healthcare Costs

City of Leesburg’s Employee Wellness Center, operated by Crowne Consulting Group
and CareHere, has had high utilization of medical services and has decreased
employee healthcare costs.
Crowne-Leesburg Press Release-11-14-13

Nov. 14, 2013 (Ocoee, Fla.)Crowne Consulting Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in onsite health and wellness centers in Florida, reports that the City of Leesburg has saved millions of dollars by adding a worksite health center for employees, retirees, and dependents covered under its healthcare plan.

The City of Leesburg’s Employee Wellness Center saved the city $1.3 million within the first year of opening in January 2011.  The trend continued in 2012 with $459,000 in savings, and this year pushing $600,000 saved dollars back into the general fund.

Dann Herrin, Leesburg’s Assistant Director, Human Services, says these savings will increase because the city has recently added workers’ compensation, triage, and occupational health services through the employee wellness center, which is co-operated by Crowne Consulting Group and Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC.

“I think CareHere’s onsite care model has been outstanding, and the Crowne folks have been a wonderful resource – they’re always there when we need them,” said Herrin.  “At first, I was skeptical if our employees would switch doctors and use the center, but the medical service providers were outstanding at keeping employees very comfortable.”

Approximately 86 percent of the city’s 1100 eligible members eagerly visited the center in the first year for primary care, screenings, and chronic disease management.  A reputation of quality service and no out-of-pocket costs drove utilization up to 96 percent this year.

“It’s a win-win-win,” added Herrin.  “Taxpayers save money, the city can reallocate savings for more resources, and the employees see outstanding financial savings while easily accessing care.”

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc:
Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance.  Crowne’s experts have experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations.  Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Announcement

CROWNE CONSULTING GROUP PRESENTS AT THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE FOR FLORIDA
CITY & COUNTY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

Government leaders gather for
education and information pertaining to onsite healthcare.
May 29, 2013 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in onsite employee health and wellness centers in Florida, announces that its team presented a case study for the Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA) annual conference last week at the Orlando Hilton.
. FCCMA is a professional organization of practicing public administrators from throughout Florida local governments.  The association focusses on providing education, support, information, and regulation to its members.
. The 2013 conference theme was “Loving Your Community – Building Attachment to Florida’s Cities, Towns and Counties.”  Crowne Consulting Group, which was a Diamond Sponsor for the event, offered a one-hour presentation with financial analysis and human resources planning for employers interested in the dynamics of onsite healthcare.
. Crowne’s session, titled “Onsite Health Centers: Real Results from a Five-Year Case Study,” outlined the successes of the onsite health center at the City of Ocoee.  Since implementing onsite care for its more than 740 employees, retirees and dependents in 2008, the City of Ocoee reversed its trend of rising healthcare expenditures and avoided over $4 million in costs.  Last year, an impressive 92 percent of eligible employees visited the center at least once.  Also, medical costs of its workers’ compensation program has decreased over 50 percent annually during a four-year span.
. “In addition to creating a healthier workforce, the onsite healthcare model is helping self-funded employers of all sizes to save millions of dollars,” said Ray Tomlinson, President of Crowne Consulting Group, who presented alongside Jim Carnicella, Crowne’s Client Account Manager and the former HR Director for the City of Ocoee.
. Crowne Consulting Group collaborates with Tennessee-based  CareHere LLC to operate more than 25 centers in Florida.  Nationally, CareHere operates over 120 centers.  Onsite health and wellness centers service employees, dependents and retirees.  Services typically include primary care, occupational services, pharmacy, disease management, and wellness services along with the benefits of zero copays, free screenings and increased physician face-time for employees.

For a copy of this case study or to learn more about the benefits of onsite healthcare, contact Ray Tomlinson at rtomlinson@crowneinc.com
.
View this release in PDF format: Crowne Announcement-FCCMA-5-29-2013.

City of Sanford Opens an On-Site Health & Wellness Center for Employees
Worksite health center slated to open for city employees on September 10
Aug. 29, 2012 (Ocoee, Fla.)Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm working in conjunction with CareHere, LLC to operate worksite health and wellness centers throughout Florida, announce that the City of Sanford’s employee health center will open its doors on September 10.  The center will service the city’s 700 members covered under its health plan, which includes employees, dependents, and retirees.
The 1,750-square-foot health and wellness center will be located near Central Florida Regional Hospital, within a mile of City Hall.  At no charge to plan members, the health and wellness center will offer primary care, occupational services, pharmacy, disease management, and wellness services such as nutritional coaching.
The city’s plan members will also benefit from zero deductibles, no copays, and free health risk assessments with lab work for evaluation of cholesterol, blood sugar, liver function, and blood pressure.
“Increased physician face-time combined with assessing risks early will be a contributing factor to helping improve care while lowering overall healthcare costs,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group.
The Crowne Consulting Group collaborates with Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC to operate more than 20 centers throughout Florida.  The City of Sanford’s health and wellness center is among several new health centers within CareHere’s network of more than 100 clinics spanning 21 states
Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance.  Crowne’s experts have a cumulative 100 years of experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations.  The firm’s mission is to bring innovative solutions that meet the fiscal responsibility of employers and maximizes investments.  Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.