Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Employee Health Benefits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County opts for employee education over administrative changes for Neighborhood Family Clinic access
Summary
Vernon County approved an HR recommendation (Option 2) to keep the Neighborhood Family Clinic arrangement but invest in employee education about when to use clinic services vs. in-network providers; budget left unchanged.
The General Government Committee approved the HR recommendation to adopt Option 2 for the county's relationship with Neighborhood Family Clinic (NFC): keep the existing contract and budget but launch an employee education campaign explaining when county employees should use NFC services and when to seek care through the county's main insurance carriers. The HR director presented three options and recommended education and outreach rather than changing plan design.
Why it matters: The county had exceeded the current annual clinic budget in the previous year, prompting a review of whether to limit services or change billing practices. HR recommended educating employees about preventative-care channels (which the county covers under its primary insurer) and reserving NFC for urgent care-type visits. The committee agreed that better employee guidance would be the least disruptive step while the county monitors expenditures this year.
Discussion focused on prescriptions and billing: representatives said NFC operates as a cash/clinic billing practice for medications and does not routinely provide itemized invoices that allow the county to distinguish preventive visits from other visits without extra administrative work. Committee members expressed concern about the county effectively paying twice for preventive services if employees use NFC instead of in-network preventive care. HR said NFC would not police employees' use of preventive services; instead the county would rely on communication to employees to direct preventive care to in-network providers.
The committee approved the recommendation to pursue education (Option 2) and asked HR to prepare a "cheat sheet" for department heads and staff explaining appropriate use, the existing $75,000 clinic budget, and potential next steps if the program remains over budget at year-end. The vote passed by voice vote after a motion and second.
