An Effective Strategy to Save on Company Healthcare Dollars AND  get better Employee Satisfaction

The concept of Direct Primary Care has been repeatedly demonstrated to save quite a bit of company dollars (anywhere from $114 to $318 per employee per month).     At the same time it produced greater employee satisfaction both with their healthcare and their employer.  But the concept is innovative and thus most companies rightly would like to “dip a toe in the water” before expanding to more of their employees.  It is a little trouble, but well worth it if you total up the savings and better company employee retention. A company enrolling 10 employees stands to save $13,000 or more yearly

Direct Primary Care is spreading throughout both the individual and business world since 2013.  It is based one the cost and time savings generated by a direct relationship of the patient to the physician, eliminating the dysfunction and cost of using insurance for each and every small medical expense, focusing insurance on the catastrophic events it is intended to cover.  Physicians are able to focus on the patient and treat them in office or by alternative methods such as phone, video and text without having to be distracted by checking boxes for claims.  The typical DPC practice reduces their overhead by 40% or more, reducing needed office volume by 70% or more.  This drastic change in efficiency allows same or next-day availability, 45 minute office visits and time-saving treatment by a doctor who know them by phone, video or text when appropriate.  The more personal, timely care translates into fewer hospitalizations and ER visits, and reduces unneeded expensive testing and specialty consultation, multiplying savings.

So, how could a business test it out?  As an example, our DPC practice charges $60/month for individual membership with unlimited no-copay office visits. No long-term commitment is required.  An effective strategy some employers have followed is to pick one or two key employees and enroll them and pay for the care for a period of time, then re-evaluate after 3-6 months for both satisfaction and cost.  The risk is minimal $180-$360 each for those index employee(s), but the potential savings are major $1,368 [1] per employee yearly.  Those business elsewhere who have used this strategy have seen progressive acceptance by other employees, better satisfaction and fewer missed work days while seeing their savings grow.  Because the employees themselves also have much less out-of-pocket expenses, the employers have eventually shared the expenses and savings with them in a win-win situation for everyone.

If you would like to know more, simply text CARES Direct Primary Care at 256 963-9441 and ask for more information or an enrollment packet, or investigate other Direct Primary Care practices in the area.

[1] Private Communication from the John Locke Foundation