NorCo Employee Health Center Bad Idea ... For Local Health Networks

The Morning Call has published an op-ed written by two well-heeled residents of affluent Upper Saucon Tp, arguing that an employee health center is a bad idea. I agree. It's a terrible idea if you're St. Luke's of Lehigh Valley Health Network. They might lose a little revenue. But if you're a county employee or taxpayer, this is just about the only thing that a local government can do to slow the rising tide of healthcare costs that plague us all. 

A few years ago, when I was a stringer for a local weekly, I was assigned to cover the dedication of the 15,000th expansion of St. Luke's Anderson campus. I was shocked at the number of high end Mercedes, Land Rovers and Jaguars in the parking lot specially set aside for the optimates. Nothing like you'd see in the lots set for the populares who pay the bills. Around that time, a close friend of mine was injured in a car accident and rushed to St. Luke's emergency ward. I spent hours with her as she nervously waited for medical care with blood spattered all over her body and clothing. I had to ask for washcloths myself to clean her off as the staff joked with each other and ignored a person who needed medical attention. Without question, our healthcare system is broken.  An independent health center that focuses on the person, as opposed to the bottom line, is a refreshing idea. 

The authors of The Morning Call Op-ed are two retired professors. One of them, Accounting Professor James Largay, was criticized by a former student for requiring his pupils to purchase "his overpriced text books."  While that may or may not be true, it's pretty clear that these authors have a poor opinion of county employees. They complain that county employees have seen no increase in the cost of their medical care for the past eight years. "[P]erhaps it's time for them to wake up and smell the same roses that every other resident smells. Medical insurance, like every other commodity*, has gone up. None of us find this appealing; why should county employees be spared the burden that the rest of us must bear?" 

It's a lot easier to bear that burden when you get paid well over $100,000 a year than it is when you're a single mother trying to raise three kids on a little over $30k. Moreover, these supposed fonts of knowledge are painfully unaware that, the county has no legal authority to reduce benefits promised to nonunion workers at the time they are hired. And I know of no union that would agree to force workers to pay more.  

After attempting to paint underpaid county workers as grifters, these supposed educators raise "practical considerations" that reveal only that they failed to do any homework. 

Saving money. - This has been demonstrated now in several memoranda addressed to Council members, some of which have been published in their entirety. As recently as last week, Executive Lamont McClure advised County Council of yet another actuarial report showing how an independent and exclusive employee health center saves money for the taxpayer. 

The health center proposed would be voluntary and offer same-day appointments as well as a wide variety of medical services that are simply unavailable at other primary care facilities. It would save between $1.44 million and $1.76 million in healthcare costs paid by the county taxpayer. 

In 2017, healthcare costs averaged $16,000 per employee. In 2023, County Council member John Brown has projected they would be $24,000.

A health care center puts a thumb in the dike of rising medical costs.  

We Already Have Excellent Health Care Facilities.  - The op-ed contends we already have "excellent health care facilities" within a 10-mile radius of every resident. This is simply false. After you spend a few hours in a waiting room for a 30-seconmd visit with an impersonal physician's assistant, you'll agree. Our system is both expensive and broken. 

But this assertion tells me who is really behind this op-ed. It certainly has the odor of a put up by our two "excellent health care facilities" that are threatened that they might have to trade in their Mercedes for Honda. Why else would Upper Saucon residents give a shit about what's happening in Northampton County? The Brahmins are worried, and they should be.  

Recruiting.- The Morning Call missive  argue that an independent health center would be unable to recruit staff. Wrong. This was addressed in several meetings. There are physicians and nurses who are tired of the rat race and long hours at hospitals, where the Almighty Dollar, and not the patient, is the focus. They are willing to work at a lower pay to actually do what they were educated to do - heal the sick. There has been no issue staffing five health centers in New Jersey and one in Lycoming County.

Health Center Only Handles Routine Care .  That's true. You won't get open heart surgery or a transplant at an employee health center. But that misses the point. The whole idea of an exclusive employee health canter is to catch the problem before you need open heart surgery or a transplant. That's better for the patient and the bottom line of a self-funded medical plan. 

Competitive Bidding. - The only valid criticism is the lack of competitive bidding. Executive McClure has told County Council that he wants their approval for a sole source bid because no other health care provider can "check all the boxes" that Integrity Health can. If that's so, why not prove it by seeking bids. Several Council members have made this suggestion, and McClure indicated he will compromise and seek bids. 

Aside from its condescending attitude, this op-ed betrays complete ignorance of both the proposed health center as well as county government. And these are former professors? The worst kind of arrogance is that which blossoms from ignorance. 

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* A commodity is defined as a raw material or an agricultural product. Medical insurance is no commodity. It is more accurately described as a lifesaver.