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Consultant says Jonesboro’s switch to self‑funding saved city $1.6 million on specialty drugs
Summary
At a Feb. 17 city council presentation, benefits consultant Greg Hatcher said Jonesboro’s move to a self‑funded employee health plan returned drug rebates to the city and produced $1.6 million in savings by sourcing 36 high‑cost prescriptions; staff outlined related wellness and HR technology efforts.
Consultant Greg Hatcher told the Jonesboro City Council on Feb. 17 that the city’s move from a fully insured plan to a self‑funded model gave officials more control over claims and drug purchasing and produced measurable savings.
"When we went self funded, we got $671,000 worth of drug rebates that were going to the carrier," Hatcher said, and added that targeted sourcing of a small number of high‑cost prescriptions produced outsized savings: "We saved $1,600,000 on those 36 prescriptions." He explained that, as the plan sponsor under self‑funding, the city obtains more detailed claims data and can set formularies or source prescriptions in lower‑cost markets.
The presentation, requested by the mayor and led by Dwayne and the Hatcher Group, framed self‑funding as a tool to blunt annual premium trend increases. Hatcher outlined drivers of rising health costs such as expanded coverage requirements, an aging population and the effects of the federal transparency rules on provider pricing. He said the city’s claims fell from about $10.1 million under a fully insured arrangement to $8.7 million after switching to self‑funding, while noting that broader market trends remain volatile.
Health‑plan consultants also described accompanying wellness initiatives aimed at reducing long‑term costs. Jacob Still, a health consultant who works with the city’s benefits team, said the city ran two on‑site wellness clinics this year and expanded a cancer‑support program that provides patient navigation and access to oncology networks. "We had two of them this year ... and we had more people get their wellness visit this year than ever before," Still said.
Don Wiener of ADP described a separate, but related, technology effort to consolidate HR systems and add employee self‑service tools to reduce manual ticket volume and streamline benefits administration. Scott Allison summarized the city’s payroll‑deduct Benefits Me program, reporting about 27% employee enrollment since its launch five months ago and saying the program enables payroll‑deduct purchases without interest or credit checks.
Why it matters: City officials said returning drug rebates and being able to tailor benefits gives Jonesboro more budget flexibility and visibility into claims trends. The council heard residents’ positive testimony about wellness outcomes and was told that planned virtual primary‑care and mental‑health options could expand access for shift workers such as police and fire staff.
What’s next: Consultants said the city will continue to monitor claims data, consider further drug‑management strategies and evaluate technology options; no council vote was required for the presentations themselves.
