County to sign memorandum with North Olympic Health Care Network to deliver Medicaid‑eligible clinical services in jails
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Summary
Clallam County will sign an MOU with North Olympic Health Care Network to provide clinical medical and behavioral-health services to Medicaid‑eligible incarcerated people; the provider will run twice‑weekly clinics, handle billing and pharmacy services, and is expected to reduce county staffing and medication costs.
Clallam County commissioners were briefed on a planned memorandum of understanding with North Olympic Health Care Network to provide clinical medical and behavioral‑health services for Medicaid‑eligible people in county adult and juvenile facilities.
County staff said the arrangement will create an on‑site clinic model in which the network will run two weekly sick‑call clinic visits, seeing roughly eight patients per visit (about 16 clinical visits per week), and will supply clinicians, medical assistants or RNs as needed. "What we were looking at is with this Medicaid transformation project, to help supplement and reimburse for the cost that we're ... burdened with, with our population," said Don, a county staff member. Don added the provider will also handle all billing and operate an onsite pharmacy so that medication continuity can be maintained for people leaving custody.
Under the proposed arrangement, North Olympic Health Care Network would bill Medicaid directly, take responsibility for medication dispensing and billing, and receive associated Medicaid revenue. County staff said the county will have no additional direct cost under the MOU and will benefit from reduced administrative and billing burden: "They will also take care of all the billing. … So all these services and costs will be born and taken care of by [the network] no longer us," Don said.
County staff said the arrangement should improve continuity of care and reentry outcomes because an incarcerated person who begins care in the facility can more easily continue with the same provider after release. Commissioners agreed to move the MOU to the regular meeting agenda on Aug. 12 for signature and asked for an implementation update from staff (Madison and others) before the summer ends to describe compliance and staffing milestones.
Staff noted the arrangement complements existing contracts (for example, a county contract with PBH for mental‑health services) and aims to lessen the jail nursing workload by shifting sick‑call visits, billing and pharmacy handling to the external provider.