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Portage Township Schools is hoping it has found a way to cut health care costs for its employees. The district opened its own PTS Employee Clinic and Wellness Center inside the NorthShore Health Center at Portage High School earlier this month. The clinic is open to all PTS employees covered in the PTS health insurance plan and their families. The opening of the clinic has been a long time in coming, said Portage Association of Teachers President Debora Porter. Porter said the teachers association floated the idea of a clinic years ago. “We were self-insured and had a Cadillac policy. Then we saw the rates go higher and higher. The costs went too high too soon,” she said, adding the district was then forced to take a state health insurance plan that didn’t allow for an employee clinic. After more than three years on the state plan, costs improved, said Porter, allowing the district to move out of the state insurance. Last year the idea of creating an employee clinic was negotiated into the teachers contract. Porter said it took some negotiations. The teachers thought they had an acceptable provider, but the School Board didn’t agree. Finally, she said, the district came back with NorthShore Health Centers as the provider and teachers agreed. “We are satisfied we got the clinic,” said Porter, adding she was the first teacher to go through the clinic as a patient and was happy with the care she received. “Working through the details took time,” said Superintendent Richard Weigel. “Basically, we worked through them with the teachers union and then worked with NorthShore. It took many months to iron out the details to make it run.” The idea behind the clinic, said both Porter and Weigel, is to provide cost-effective medical care to the covered employees and their families. A qualified employee is not charged for an office visit. If they need medication, they can have their prescription filled through NorthShore, a federally qualified facility, at a lower cost. By keeping out-of-pocket costs down to employees, they will more likely go to the clinic early for treatment instead of trying to wait out an illness that could get worse and, in the long run, cost more money and more time off work. The district is self-insured, meaning premiums paid by employees go into a pool to pay for health care. The only outside insurance is for catastrophic coverage above what the premium pool covers. By using the clinic, no insurance company is billed, which, they hope, will keep premiums lower for employees. Deb Richardson, the nurse practitioner hired to operate the clinic, said much of her job is going to educating employees on how to keep themselves healthy and to encourage regular visits to improve their health. If she sees anything beyond her realm of expertise, she said, she can consult with a doctor from NorthShore or refer the employee to a specialist. “We suspect teachers have been delaying their health care, which is not really the best way to manage their health,” Porter said. The school district entered into a contract with NorthShore. The district pays NorthShore $3,300 per month for management and $2,500 per month for oversight of the nurse practitioner. The district also pays the salary of the nurse practitioner and medical assistant. The money is paid from the district’s self-funded insurance. The clinic is open five days a week. The hours are staggered to allow employees to come before or after school. Employees also are encouraged to go to the clinic during lunch or plan times if needed. Todd Elliott, business development manager for NorthShore, said the partnership is a continuation of the relationship between the district and health care facility. “We started in partnership with the schools and it has been ongoing. This is a natural fit. We want to work together to keep the cost down,” Elliott said. |
