Deschutes County commissioners will vote at a 10 a.m. meeting today on a contract with a private company to open and operate an onsite health clinic for employees.

The clinic is intended to control costs of employee health insurance. County officials plan to encourage employees to voluntarily use the clinic for urgent care and other needs.

The two-year contract with Charlotte, N.C.-based Healthstat would cost the county approximately $500,000, according to a county staff report. The contract would save the county at least $250,000 a year in health care costs, according to the staff report.

The $500,000 cost would include things like administrative fees, which would be assessed based on the number of patients, health care personnel costs, a one-time electronic medical record system licensing fee and other items, according to the contract. The contractwould be capped at $1 million; the county would not have to pay for services above that amount.

Not included in that $500,000 is the cost to remodel part of an existing county building to house the clinic.

County Administrator Dave Kanner estimated the remodeling project would cost less than $50,000, although he will not know for certain until the county gets quotes.

Deschutes County self-insures for employee health care, and would pay for the clinic operations and remodeling from a county fund used to pay employee health insurance claims.

Under the contract, Healthstat would guarantee the county a complete return on its investment within the first 18 months of operation, meaning that the company has to save the county as much money as the county spends on Healthstat. If Healthstat were to fail to do so, it would refund the county a portion of the administrative fees, in an amount based on how close the company were to come to the goal of a 100 percent return on investment.

The county and Healthstat would also have the option to terminate the contract early without giving cause, either by mutual consent or by giving the other party 60 days’ notice.

Kanner said it would quickly become evident whether the Healthstat clinic were saving the county money, since the county is self-insured and staff monitor how much the county pays in health insurance claims on a weekly basis.

“And if that number goes down, and we will see it going down in real time, then we know the likelihood is, it’s because the clinic is diverting costs from more expensive outside providers,” Kanner said.

Commissioner Dennis Luke said the county should give the clinic three to four years to determine whether it is saving money as envisioned.

Commissioner Alan Unger, on the other hand, said the county should not set a cutoff date for when the clinic must save money. Instead, the county should work on adjusting the clinic until it becomes popular with employees, Unger said.

Commissioner Tammy Baney said the county should give the clinic a year to achieve savings. She said county staff have diligently researched other onsite employee clinics to learn what made certain ones successful and others less so.

Contract could impact 2,500 people

The county spends about $13 million a year on health insurance claims and prescriptions, Kanner has said. Deschutes County has approximately 840 employees; it provides employees and their dependents with medical, dental and vision benefits, and charges premiums to departments based on how many employees they have.

Employees of Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council are also covered by the county’s insurance, and they would be able to use the new health clinic. In total, the insurance plan covers approximately 2,500 people, including the council’s employees and dependents and the county’s employees and dependents.

If you go

What: Deschutes County Commission meeting

When: 10 a.m. today

Where: 1300 N.W. Wall St., Bend