Workplace Health Services Blog

When you self-insure your employees, you may view an onsite health clinic as an unnecessary, additional expense. Big mistake.

When you self-insure, you’re not only responsible for every dollar of your employer health costs, you usually pay a Third Party Administrator to manage these costs. Granted, you probably re-insure to avoid catastrophic losses, but you’re still on the hook for a lot of money.

And, it is your money. Money that can be put to far better use investing in equipment, marketing your products, and growing your business.

What’s the old business maxim? Outsource the non-critical.

In these economic times, is anything more critical (and expensive) than employee healthcare?

Onsite health clinics reduce employer health costs in several ways. First, these costs become fixed, at a rate that is much lower than the fee-for-service costs you pay for visits to a primary care physician.

Secondly, you encourage your employees to focus on their health, and manage it more responsibly. The health screening and risk assessments and other wellness programs available through our onsite health clinics dramatically improve employee health over time.

And, as employees become better educated on their health, they tend not to overutilize medical services. This has a dramatic, cost-reducing domino effect — lowering presenteeism and absenteeism, and improving morale and productivity. We’re talking real money here.

Finally, when employees do get sick or are injured, they can be diagnosed and treated onsite (again, at the lower fixed cost). If they must be referred to specialty care (a specialist) or tertiary care (a hospital), their complete medical history is provided, avoiding duplication of testing and improving continuity of care.

So, the question all self-insured employers should ask, when considering an onsite health clinic, is, “If I can find a way to significantly reduce my expenses without reducing my number of employees, shouldn’t I consider it?”

Just think of the competitive advantage you’ll gain. It’s definitely worth a 30 minute conversation with an experienced provider of onsite services, isn’t it?

You just may want to open an onsite health clinic before your competitors do.

Workplace Health Services can help large companies reduce employer health costs and help employees reduce the likelihood of serious illnesses. If you would like more information, you can call us at (866) 612-2848 or , and we’ll be in touch.

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