Better Benefits, Lower Costs: Mower County's First-Year Results

Mower County set out to control rising health care costs without reducing benefits or shifting more expense to employees. One year later, combined medical and pharmacy spending had declined by nearly 7%, putting the county on track for approximately $500,000 in expected savings.Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon welcome back Colton Storla, vice president of employee benefits at North Risk Partners, to discuss Mower County’s first-year results.Colton explains how self-funding gave the county greater transparency and control—and why self-funding alone doesn’t guarantee savings. The results came from combining appropriate stop-loss protection with direct primary care through HELPcare Clinic, nurse navigation, pharmacy management and access to preferred high-value providers.The plan renewed with a low-single-digit increase despite experiencing a claim exceeding $1 million. More than half of the county’s covered population also engaged with HELPcare Clinic during the year.You’ll also hear how moving one employee’s injectable medication from a hospital setting to HELPcare Clinic reduced its cost from approximately $60,000 to a little over $20,000 while making care more convenient - and FREE - for the employee.Learn more about HELPcare Clinic at https://helpcare.health.Learn more and register for Building a Better Employer Health Plan on Aug. 5 in Rochester.