EVPL, like most organizations, has experienced ever increasing healthcare costs due, in part, to heavy use of the medical/Rx plan by employees and their families. Employee demographics reflect an aging population that tends to be sedentary in nature and more prone to health issues. The overall wellness level of employees and families has contributed to increased use paid time off benefits and FMLA. Additionally, the overall health and well-being of employees and families have a direct effect on the ability to deliver library services - customer service - in an attentive, positive, and welcoming manner. The situation presented the opportunity to re-envision the traditional healthcare or medical/Rx program to an Employee Wellness Program. Instead of just a medical/Rx plan that was reactive, the Employee Wellness Program is proactive. A healthy workforce is a happy and productive workforce, and is more economical as well!

A healthy workforce is critical to the success of the library and is the main focus of EVPL’s employee benefits plans. However, increased costs of medical and prescription drugs force attention to cost containment.

EVPL has embarked on a sustainable plan to achieve:

1. A healthier and more productive workforce
2. Maintain a sustainable high level of benefit to the employee
3. Maintain or reduce costs to the employee and to the Library Using a building adjacent to Central Library to install an Employee Wellness Clinic, EVPL contracted with locally owned provider Tri-State Community Clinics.

Staffed with a Nurse Practitioner and Certified Medical Assistant, it is fully equipped as a medical doctor’s office; the same services may be performed in the clinic. The pharmacy is stocked with the most common prescription drugs used by employees. The clinic does not replace our medical/RX plan, but works alongside it to increase wellness and reduce costs. There is no cost for to the employee! EVPL pays the entire cost. There were no changes to medical/RX plan or the cost share structure. The funding mechanism was changed from fully insured to partially self-insured to take advantage of reduced claim expenditures. There is nearly 100% employee participation. The result has been a more health conscious employee population, reduced out-of-pocket expenses for the employee, and reduced costs for the library.

EVPL employees and spouses participated in the first annual Wellness Screening (Health Risk Assessments) in 2013. Information gathered is confidential and is a baseline for improvement on wellness. The immediate result was clinic intervention in unknown cases of high blood pressure, diabetes, and one case an early diagnosis of melanoma. A life saved. Employees have maintained the same medical/RX coverage at the same cost, but have substantially reduced out-of-pocket costs when using the clinic – everything at the clinic is free to the employee and their dependents, including prescription drugs. The clinic is convenient and more customer/wellness focused than most physicians’ offices. EVPL has reduced claims filed with the plan resulting in overall cost reductions. In 2015 EVPL will be able to maintain the premium cost to the employee at the same level without changing benefits. The lower claims costs will mean that part of the employer share of premiums will be directed to paying clinic expenses. The high-claims risk to EVPL is mitigated by implementing a trust fund partially-insured plan. The employer and employee share of premiums are deposited into the trust fund, costs/claims are paid from the trust fund. The trust fund balance grows from year to year. The larger the trust fund the more stable the plan and less increases to premiums. High-claim risk is lowered by use of re-insurance, the cost of which is also lowered due to lower claims payouts. It is a win-win situation for employees and EVPL.