Boone County council approves $140,439 appropriation for employee health clinic

Boone County council voted to approve an appropriation of $140,439 to fund a county employee health clinic previously approved pending counsel.

An unnamed human resources representative told the council the estimated total is $140,439 and outlined the fee structure: a one-time implementation fee of $7,500, a single-sign-on (patient portal) fee of $10,000, and a per-member monthly service fee that was discussed in the meeting (the presenter stated $15 per member per month; later discussion referenced $69.60 per member per month in a budget worksheet). The presenter said the vendor would treat prescriptions and lab work as pass-through costs.

Council members pressed for clarity on several points: how medications and lab services would be billed and audited, whether other local employers or school corporations could join to lower per-member costs, and how the contract could be terminated. The HR representative said the contract term is three years with the option to exit after one year with 90 days' notice and that detailed drug and lab cost reports were included in the RFP and could be provided to the council on request. The presenter also said current vendor pricing assumes the county's employee population (reported as 464 employees) for annualized estimates.

Finance staff and councilors confirmed the appropriation would be charged to the county's dedicated health fund (fund code 5901). Council members noted the fund balance is "just under $1,000,000" as discussed during the meeting.

After questions and a brief discussion about monitoring utilization and establishing multiple ledger lines to track costs, a council member moved to approve the appropriation and the council approved the motion by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will provide the detailed cost reports from the RFP and work with the auditor to set up tracking lines in fund 5901 for implementation and ongoing charges.