Several states are estimating double-digit percentage hikes for insurance premiums in 2019 under the Affordable Care Act. America’s saga has included these annual increases along with rising healthcare claims under traditional insurance plans. In response, many employers are innovating change to regain control of healthcare dollars.
School districts, government agencies, sheriff’s offices, corporations, and small businesses alike have reduced costs by transitioning to self-funded health plans and launching worksite care for employees, dependents, and retirees.
For those considering this money-saving switch, here are three ways employers and plan members mutually benefit from health and wellness centers at or near the worksite:
Added Convenience: Utilization of onsite and near-site health centers is high because plan members embrace convenient access to an array of medical services. Primary care, first aid, occupational services, pharmacy, disease management, and wellness services are within easy reach through worksite care. Plan members simply visit the health center during a lunch break, as opposed to taking time off to travel across town for check-ups.
Increased Productivity: Keeping employees in peak working condition is a benefit to any organization as a whole. Plan members are often incentivized to access free health-risk assessments with lab work for evaluation of cholesterol, blood sugar, liver function, blood pressure, and other bio-metric panels. Screenings and onsite wellness initiatives help catch any health issues early and support efforts for optimal health.
Decreased Costs: In addition to providing preventative care to mitigate risks and avoid high-claim costs, onsite health and wellness centers help decrease specialty-care needs and help avoid expensive ER visits. Wholesale costs on generic drugs also reduce pharmacy costs, while providing access to free prescriptions for plan members. Best of all, plan members pay zero deductibles and no copays for worksite care.
“Worksite care provides a win-win situation for employers and plan members,” said Ray Tomlinson, president Crowne Consulting Group, which is engaged in operating over 30 onsite and near-site health centers across Florida. “Services are tailored for each employee population to eliminate unnecessary spending and to optimize benefits for health and productivity.”
Crowne Consulting Group has built a solid reputation in helping employers implement an onsite-healthcare model with customized services for plan members. Healthcare centers, including operations and administration, are costing approximately 30 to 70 percent less than what employers are paying under the fee-for-service model.
Crowne Consulting Group and its affiliates serve school districts, city government, county government, sheriff’s offices, and private organizations. Call 407.654.5414 for information.
As employers across America look ahead to 2018 budgets, experts predict the keys to successfully maintaining a healthy bottom line will be controlling actual service costs while also reducing medical risks.
According to projections from PwC Health Research Institute (HRI), medical costs in the 2018 employer insurance market will grow at a slightly faster rate than 2017. HRI’s latest edition of “Behind the Numbers” lists price of services and rates of utilization as the leading factors affecting 2018’s projected 6.5% medical-cost trend.
“In a competitive labor market, employers are looking for new cost containment strategies beyond shifting more costs to employees,” according to HRI’s report, which also recommends employers take action by considering customized worksite-health-promotion programs, drug-spending evaluations, and a stronger focus to “tackle price” on provider arrangements.
An increasing number of employers are now choosing self-funded health plans as a first step in combating costs. Self-funded employers pay medical costs for services without paying insurance premiums to carriers each year. Notably, most self-funded plans will require reinsurance or a separate stop-loss policy for catastrophic events in order to financially manage long-term risks or losses.
Benefits experts can help organizations easily transition to self-funded programs. Once self-funded, employers are positioned to mitigate risks and lower expenses through the customization of healthcare programs for employees, retirees, and their dependents.
“Shifting to self-funded plans and focusing on preventative care are two ways budget-minded employers in today’s market are achieving the greatest return from healthcare investments,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, a benefits-planning firm specializing in self-funding and the operation of over 30 onsite and near-site employee health centers.
Employers are launching onsite health and wellness centers for plan members to combat rising healthcare costs. Onsite healthcare specifically attracts self-funded groups because medical visit costs are paid directly by the employer without claims being filed through the more expensive fee-for-services model typically conducted by Group health insurance programs. With an onsite-care model, however, the employer controls spending by paying significantly lower costs.
“Self-funded employers can substantially cut costs through customized risk management and on-site care programs, while patients reap the benefits of no out-of-pocket costs and easily accessible primary care, disease management, screenings, x-rays, wellness, and prescriptions,” said Tomlinson.
Crowne Consulting Group’s clients have included school districts, cities, counties, sheriff’s offices, and private organizations. Contact Crowne or call 407.654.5414 for information and employer solutions.
PRESS RELEASE
Return On Investment With Onsite Medical Care
Crowne Consulting Group Reports Million-Dollar Savings For Employers With Worksite Healthcare.
June 14, 2016 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group and its partners are helping employers lower medical costs through onsite and near-site health and wellness centers for employees, retirees, and dependents.
By providing pass-through services without mark-up costs, Crowne’s Florida-based team and its medical affiliates are helping employers reduce the cost of typical insurance claims. Employers save money, while plan members reap the benefits of free and easy access to primary care, screenings, wellness programs, and prescriptions.
“For the employee, there are no co-pays for the office visit or for most prescriptions,” said Carol MacLeod, Chief Financial Officer at Lake County Schools. “For the District, every patient visit that is seen by the wellness center instead of another physician saves the District in excess of $150. We have contained our health care cost increases to 2.66 percent per year when trend has been in excess of 9 percent.”
Crowne Consulting Group and its partners are helping other employers save millions of dollars through the implementation of customized onsite-care programs. President Ray Tomlinson emphasizes that an advanced, patient-centric approach can boost clients’ financial successes. Pasco County Schools, for example, is showing major returns since launching onsite care in 2011.
According to the superintendent at Pasco County Schools, Kurt S. Browning, “The District has saved/avoided over $26 million in health and medication expenditures and employees have saved over $4 million in co-pays for office visits and generic medication. We estimate that over 90 percent of our insurance eligible employees have used the medical clinics at some point since inception.”
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’s experts serve 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 and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting. In response to the growing demand for comprehensive care, Crowne is continuously adding new solutions for employee healthcare.
Employers are making healthcare more effective by offering medical services at or nearby the worksite. By handling all administration and operations, onsite care experts can help shift attention from disease management to disease prevention. Over 30 employee health and wellness centers in Florida are drastically reducing health costs through the help of Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. and medical partnerships.
Onsite care extends benefits of free office visits, screenings, and increased physician face-time for employees. Employers can stick with their current healthcare plan and benefits provider. The only difference is that the employees now have the option to handle medical appointments and wellness visits at the worksite rather than at more costly outside providers.
“Costs for operating an onsite health center can be 60 percent less than paying for a fee-for-service model,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group. “And it’s not just employers seeing the savings – the employees are also reaping the benefits through the increased accessibility to care.”
Utilization proves to be high because employee health centers offer on-demand medical service for employees, their dependents, and the retiree population for no out-of-pocket costs.
With a free and reliable health center nearby, employees are more likely to keep chronic issues, such as hypertension and diabetes, in check.
Workers are equipped to take better care of themselves, while also taking less time off and requiring fewer serious medical procedures.
Quality healthcare in a convenient location reduces costs to employees, and, by extension, taxpayers.
Employers can experience additional savings and services when the workers’ compensation program is integrated with an onsite-health-center model. One Florida school district slashed their Worker’s Compensation costs by 50 percent in one year. Crowne and their medical partners have also teamed with top-rated firms to bring insurance products and management services for fully-insured and self-insured school districts.
When considering onsite care, it’s important to ask the right questions to ensure your operators are able to meet and exceed your needs for lowering health costs while making quality care more accessible to your employees. With expertise in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations – Crowne specializes in making healthcare more accessible and more affordable.
Disease Management Successes Through Onsite Care
Helps Florida Employers Lower Healthcare Costs
Crowne Consulting Group and CareHere help employers reduce healthcare costs
through onsite health and wellness centers for employees.
Nov. 6, 2014 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Employers are faced with escalating healthcare costs, including the rising rates of costly chronic diseases affecting their workforce. The American Diabetes Association, which is now honoring Diabetes Awareness Month, estimates the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $245 billion.
“Rising costs ring the alarm for bringing worksite care to employees; it’s crucial to make visiting the doctor more convenient for employees,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, an employee benefits consulting firm. “Our client’s employees say that easier access and personalized attention has helped them gain control over diabetes and other conditions.”
Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. (owd.dev/PCHP/CrowneGroup/wp) operates over 30 Florida-based employee health centers in collaboration with Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC, which operates over 100 nationwide. At no cost to the employee, onsite health centers provide an array of medical clinic services including primary care, screenings, lab work, x-rays, occupational health, wellness programs, disease management, and free generic prescriptions.
According to a 2014 study by the RAND Corporation, a disease management component reduced healthcare costs by an estimated $136 per member per month, driven by a 29 percent reduction in hospital admissions. The study concluded that workplace wellness programs may reduce health risks and costs for employees with manifest chronic disease.
“Employees utilize free screenings and wellness programs offered at onsite health centers, thus, preventing high-dollar claims by mitigating risks associated with chronic diseases,” said Tomlinson.
In addition to medical successes, Crowne’s clients have achieved 30 to 70 percent decreases in their healthcare claims, including clients seeing a 34 percent reduction in diabetes claims costs.
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.
GOVERNMENT LEADERS ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA GATHER FOR CROWNE’S SUMMIT ON INNOVATIONS FOR ONSITE HEALTHCARE
Cities and school districts met with Crowne Consulting Group for a Summit on Jan. 15 to assess the growing number of employee health and wellness centers.
Jan. 23, 2013 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Central Florida has become a hub of innovation in employee healthcare. Since 2008, onsite employee health and wellness centers have been popping up across Florida and pushing down employer healthcare costs.
Last Tuesday, government representatives met to discuss the benefits they’ve reaped from implementing onsite care centers. They also formed strategies to enhance care by sharing healthcare center access with neighboring municipalities.
Attendees of the 1st Annual Crowne Summit included, the School District of Lake County, City of DeLand, City of Kissimmee, City of Leesburg, City of Lake Mary, City of Mount Dora, City of Ocala, City of Ocoee, City of Oviedo, and City of Sanford. All entities are working with Crowne Consulting Group and CareHere to manage onsite employee health and wellness centers.
Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm, is co-administrators of more than 25 health centers throughout Florida, helping Tennessee-based partners CareHere, LLC surpass a milestone of 100 centers nationwide.
Onsite health and wellness centers help employers cut health costs through onsite medical care and wellness programs. Health center services typically include primary care, occupational services, pharmacy, disease management, x-rays, and wellness services along with the employee benefits of zero copays, free screenings, free generic prescriptions, and increased physician face-time.
All centers are staffed by a physician and other supporting medical staff. In addition to providing primary care, chronic disease management and medication, the centers also focus on providing health risk assessments (HRAs), which is a short health examination with blood draw to assess a patient’s risk for diseases and conditions.
Mitigating risks early and keeping employees healthy have prompted positive financial results, including: 10 percent reductions in plan costs, 15 percent decreases in prescription costs, drastic reductions in sick time, and millions of taxpayer dollars saved.
“We’ve saved over $3M since opening our health center,” said Robert Frank, City Manager for Ocoee, which is approaching its five-year anniversary for onsite care for its 350 employees.
Jerry Boop, Finance Director for the City of Oviedo, spoke of similar results. “Crowne has left their footprint on our organization. The City’s healthcare costs are down significantly and are currently trending around 3 percent. We all know that’s a huge accomplishment.”
And they’re not alone. The City of Ocala’s team thanked Crowne for helping them to improve efficiency in a tough economy. The center is one of “our crown jewels,” according to Catherine Cameron, Assistant City Manager. The City saved enough money to go from fully-insured in 2009 to being self-insured within a year of opening its doors.
“Prior to opening the clinics, our premium increases were trending around 10 percent annually. Since we put in the clinics, we’ve been able to keep that down consistently to just 2 percent,” said Jared Sorensen, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management for Ocala.
“We also utilized CareHere’s wellness program last year and tied an incentive program to our premiums so that those completing HRAs and following up with doctor care benefited from lesser premiums. This has provided great success in identifying risks and controlling costs.”
Mark Hayward, Human Resources Director for the City of DeLand, says they’ve seen a $145,000 drop in combined workers’ compensation and medical costs since opening in November of 2010. DeLand also struck a deal with the local hospital to allow employees easier access to specialized medical care.
Collaboration was a running theme at the summit, as most entities remarked that they were open to discussing the idea of access sharing, which would allow their employees an opportunity to visit nearby CareHere health centers operating under neighboring counties and cities.
A partnership example is the City of Ocoee sharing with the City of Apopka to extend the convenience of easy access for employees living in different areas. The Cities of Mount Dora and Leesburg also have an access-sharing agreement for their onsite health centers.
In addition to multi-entity sharing, some have gone the route of opening more than one location, such is the case with Lake Schools, which is in the process of opening their third onsite health center this year for its more than 5,000 employees, dependents, and retirees.
“The centers have been a great success and employees are asking for more locations. Plus, we didn’t have to raise healthcare premiums on our employees this year,” said Carol MacLeod, Chief Financial Officer for Lake Schools, which began working with Crowne and CareHere in 2011.
Attendees of the summit took notes while listening to these exciting results. The Cities of Lake Mary and Sanford, who just launched onsite centers within the past few months, hope for similar results, while the City of Kissimmee is counting the days until their first center opens in April.
“These employers deserve a round of applause for implementing solutions that actually lower health costs while enhancing employee care,” added Dan Ross, president of Med-Vision LLC and Med-View LLC, which provides healthcare data analytics and benefits consulting for Crowne.
Prior to posing for a team photo and pictures with smiling clients and vendors, Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group gave the following statement: “We are thrilled to hear so much positive feedback from clients who are decreasing healthcare costs and improving quality of care for their employees. The fact that more centers are opening soon means that Florida is on the leading edge of employer-driven healthcare reform. Additionally, this idea of clients sharing access in neighboring areas could extend greater convenience for employees while increasing access to affordable 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 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.
Call 407-654-5414 to learn more about corporations, school districts, and government agencies implementing on-site health and wellness centers for their employees.
Shots for Tots Combines Toy Drive with Free Flu Shots
Crowne Consulting Group, CareHere, and Pasco Schools partner to collect toy donations while providing protection against the flu.
Dec. 19, 2012 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. and CareHere LLC announces that they teamed up with the District School Board of Pasco County last week for “Shots for Tots,” a program to offer free flu shots to all adults and children ten-years old and older who donated an unwrapped children’s toy.
As part of the program, CareHere nurses visited several school campuses offering the free vaccine to eligible individuals in an attempt to vaccinate as many people as possible during what is considered by the CDC as a more severe flu season.
In addition to inoculating community members and increasing protection against the flu, the program also collected toys for children in the Pasco County area to aid in the District’s yearly efforts to provide presents for children whose families cannot afford to purchase gifts this year. Guidance counselors from the District School Board of Pasco County joined the drive, picking up the donations and distributing them among needy families whose children attend Pasco County schools.
Toys donated at flu shot clinics outside school campuses were donated to Metropolitan Ministries to assist in boosting their annual toy drive, which had been experiencing a decrease in the number of donations this year.
Crowne Consulting Group collaborates with Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC to operate more than 25 on-site health centers throughout Florida. Since 2011, Pasco Schools have had three onsite health and wellness centers for their employees. A news segment highlighting how Pasco Schools saved $2 million in the first year of opening its CareHere health and wellness centers is available at https://crowneinc.com/news/.
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.
October 15, 2012, KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A new healthcare model seems to be sweeping through central Florida and it has nothing to with the Affordable Care Act.
Cities, counties and school districts are opening their own health clinics, offering free health care to employees, retirees, and their families.
Kissimmee is set to vote on Tuesday to contract with CareHere, a company that already operates more than a dozen clinics in central Florida.
“The numbers of heart failures have come down, asthmas are down, diabetes is down, all those chronic, big-dollar, big-ticket items,” said Brian Branham, of CareHere clinics.
Branham said health is up and costs are down at the facilities, saving taxpayers money. And in exam rooms, patients not only consult with physicians, they get their blood drawn and pick up prescriptions.
Patients get more time than in a traditional medicine model, where a doctor gets a few minutes with a patient.
Doctors with CareHere are allotted at least 20 minutes of consultation time with each patient.
“The physicians get time to actually sit with the patients, talk with them, figuring out what’s going on with them,” said Branham.
Sanford opened a clinic last month. Lake Mary will open one in December and Kissimmee wants to be the next city with healthier employees.
There is already a long list of taxpayer-owned clinics around central Florida, including Flagler County, Lake County Schools and local cities: Leesburg, Deland, Mt. Dora, Sanford, Apopka, and more.
Sept. 12, 2012 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. is helping a growing number of organizations lower healthcare costs by enhancing employee benefits and offering onsite health and wellness centers for their employees.
The Crowne Consulting Group collaborates with Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC to operate 24 on-site health centers throughout Florida. To name a few, the City of Leesburg, City of Ocala, City of Ocoee, Lake Schools, St. Johns Schools, and Charlotte County are offering onsite medical care for employees. Add to that the City of Sanford opening earlier this week, and Lake Mary and Longwood projected for fall.
Motivators behind this trend include:
Employees pay no co-pay, which keeps utilization high. Also, generic drugs, primary care, x-rays, screenings, disease management, and wellness services are all free.
Worksite-based care makes visiting the doctor more convenient for employees who typically neglect
basic care or delay treatment.
Some employers have seen insurance claims drop 15 percent in gross costs within one year of launching on-site care, while other employers have sustained nearly a 4 percent decrease in claims costs during a four-year span.
“It’s a win-win for employers and employees because easier access to preventive care ensures that risks can be uncovered before becoming high-dollar medical claims,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, which was recently profiled in Orlando Business Journal and Governing Magazine.
A news segment highlighting how Pasco Schools saved $2 million in the first year of opening its CareHere center is available at https://crowneinc.com/news/.
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 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.
LOWERING HEALTH COSTS WHILE ENHANCING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
City of Oviedo’s onsite health center operated by Crowne Consulting Group helps employer improve employee healthcare while lowering medical trend increases.
Feb. 28, 2012 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in onsite health and wellness centers in Florida, reports that the City of Oviedo reduced health cost trends by adding a worksite health center for employees.
Since opening the center in March of 2010 in an effort to avoid passing increased health costs to city workers, the City of Oviedo reversed its trend down to just a 2 percent annual increase. This defies the nation’s average 12 percent annual rise for medical inflation. Financial savings include all operational costs for the health center, which is co-operated by Ocoee-based Crowne Consulting Group and Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC.
City Manager Kathryn Breazeale believes that over the past two years, employees benefited by receiving free generic medication and health and wellness services provided through the clinic.
Approximately 85 percent of the city’s 245 eligible employees visited the free clinic in the first year for more than 3,000 service appointments including primary care, screenings, chronic disease management, digital X-rays, EKG, and occupational services. In addition to zero deductibles for services, 80 percent of the city’s employees benefited from free health risk assessments with lab work for evaluation of cholesterol, blood sugar, liver function, and blood pressure.
“Assessing risks early and engaging employees to manage conditions is a contributing factor to thousands of dollars saved for employees and taxpayers,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group.
In addition, thanks to wholesale rates, the city’s total prescription costs through Crowne and CareHere decreased 8 percent per member.
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 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 include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.
As employers across America look ahead to 2018 budgets, experts predict the keys to successfully maintaining a healthy bottom line will be controlling actual service costs while also reducing medical risks.