A new health care plan announced by Mower County last week not only represents substantial cost savings for county employees and taxpayers, but also represents a growing shift toward a more transparent form of health insurance options.

Last week, it was announced that the Mower County Board of Commissioners approved the new employee health plan through Self Fund Health and it includes a partnership between the county, HELPcare Clinic and North Risk Partners.

The plan, which will be instituted in 2025, will save taxpayers a minimum of $678,000 compared to renewing its current plan, with an estimated overall savings of $882,000 to the county.

Equally important is the beneficial return for employees who will see more and clearer options for healthcare with far less out-of-pocket expenses.

“What really struck me about this plan is how much it will save our employees,” said Kris Kohn, Mower County’s director of human resources. “The HELPcare clinic is part of that, but it’s really having the choice to go places.”

“The goal is for employees not to meet their deductible,” she added.

The benefits for Mower County employees are many, including zero dollars spent at Direct Primary Care clinics like HELPCare on things including checkups, labs and x-rays, physical therapy and more.

It also includes discounted dollars at in-network and out-of-network facilities for those who want to stick with providers they are familiar with and comfortable with.

At the same time, the plan uses the existing high quality of care requirements established by the Self Fund Health Preferred Network.

“There’s no quality for people to look at,” said Bernie Mackell, risk adviser for Wisconsin-based North Risk Partners. “It’s there, but it’s very hard to get. We’re going to give them that.”

Self Fund Health requires its preferred providers to meet four criteria to become part of its system.

Four star health rating;

• Officers provide fair and transparent prices;

• Provider must see patients in a timely manner (same day/next day to weeks vs. months); and

• Referred by direct primary care or other independent providers.

“We would argue that it’s not an insurance product,” said Colton Storla, vice president of employee benefits and risk counsel for North Risk. “It’s just basic buy-in and empowering employees and their families with the information they need before they go and seek care.”

For direct primary care clinics like HELPcare, this type of insurance coverage fits into a foundation for providing healthcare. The ability to devote more time at a reduced price.

“When we started we wanted to have a clinic like us where people could buy a membership and be a part of it,” said HELPcare Administrator Lee Aase. “We had a vision at that time to be able to serve some of the smaller employers who couldn’t afford health insurance but could provide a major and meaningful benefit through our membership.”

Discussions of the Mower County plan began in March at a function where both entities were represented. Following these initial discussions, the county began to look more closely at how this type of arrangement might work.

Kohn said the plan addresses the needs of those who might otherwise not receive health care because of out-of-pocket costs that contributed to the deductible.

Through this new arrangement, not only are some of these costs mitigated and cost nothing out of pocket, but those who participate can see substantial reductions in procedure costs by using a network of other providers recommended by the Self Health Fund.

Some of those in the Self Fund Preferred Network include well-known institutions like Twin Cities Orthopedics. And of course, it allows people to stay with their current providers, including Mayo Clinic, without an increased price.

“This really opens up opportunities and gives them transparency so they can make decisions,” Kohn said. “Being able to give them something that gives them a choice, it gives them the opportunity to have better health and to be able to afford it. That’s the biggest reason we made this move.”

This idea of ​​more financially responsible and transparent health care is part of a national trend that is getting more and more attention across the country, those involved said.

In part, it’s driven by providers who want to be able to spend time with patients without the stress load of high patient volumes, resulting in shorter visit times.

HELPcare intentionally schedules a small number of patients each day to ensure that each patient is seen for longer.

“This is something that’s really growing significantly,” Aase said. “Our hope is that we will be able to do this in more communities in southern Minnesota.”

The entire process for those Mower County employees who enroll in the plan is guided by a dedicated Mower County nurse navigator. In this case, it’s Sarah Mumm, RN, who will help employees find the right provider and where a procedure can best be done that fits what the employee wants.

“The navigational assistant is so, so important,” Mackell said. “We’re going to take this off their hands and Sarah will be their personal shopper. They will change the whole framework.”

A framework that Mower County staff sees as a game changer for their employees.

“It’s not that different from what we’re really doing, it’s just that we’re pulling back the curtain and making it transparent,” Kohn said. “Now we have a person who gets paid a flat rate who does it outdoors.”

“I’m very excited about what this will do for our employees and our taxpayers,” Kohn continued. “We always put the employee first. Our people are the most important thing, and we are able to model transparency and health care, just as Mower County is working hard on transparency in government.”