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Health Department presents employee blood-draw options; committee keeps county coverage for basic panel
Summary
Health Department Director Melissa Miller told the Wage & Benefit Committee that adding A1C, Vitamin D and PSA to the county-paid basic lab panel would raise the cash price from $35 in 2025 to $100 for men and $82 for women; the committee agreed to maintain the current process and requested flyers to publicize services.
Melissa Miller, Health Department Director, attended the Ellis County Wage & Benefit Committee meeting to lay out pricing and scheduling for employee preventive-care blood draws.
Miller told the committee that in 2025 employees who scheduled at the health department received a county-covered basic lab panel at a cash price of $35; the department did not run those services through insurance due to cost and scheduling conflicts. She reported that including additional tests — A1C, Vitamin D and PSA (men only) — would raise the cash price to $100 for men and $82 for women. Miller said the health department would prefer to offer preventative-care checklists throughout the year rather than concentrating them in October.
Committee members discussed employee concerns about excluded tests and the effect on out-of-pocket cost. The group's consensus was to maintain the current process: the county will cover the basic panel cash price and employees will be responsible for any additional panels. The health department will create and distribute flyers explaining services, pricing, and scheduling. Miller left the meeting at 9:15 A.M.
Next steps: the health department will produce written materials for staff and report back if there are recommended Policy changes or vendor options that would allow more tests to be covered without increasing county expense.
