More than 80 employees with Columbus Light and Water will have access to a Baptist Medical Group-backed primary care clinic after the utility’s board on Thursday approved a one-year contract to participate.
CLW joins Lowndes County in the clinic, which is intended to reduce premium costs for the entities and treat the employees without requiring copays. Supervisors entered a contract with BMG earlier this month.
The cost for CLW to participate will be approximately $388 per employee — a total of about $35,000 — which the utility will cover, General Manager Todd Gale said. The clinic would serve employees and their children but not spouses, which CLW’s insurance does not cover.
Following the CLW meeting, Board Chairman Michael Tate was enthusiastic about the decision.
“It doesn’t cost the employees anything,” he said. “We actually are going to provide an extra service for them. They can use the nurse or nurse practitioners or doctors that contract with us, or they can use their own, and they’ll just have to pay the copays, which they’re already paying. But if they use the doctors that we have in place, it’s not going to cost the employees anything.”
A doctor and two nurse practitioners will staff the clinic at 2503 Fifth St. N., where they will aim to keep patients out of the hospital, said BMG Executive Director of Operations Sean Nelson. Nelson previously told The Dispatch the clinic would provide services such as preventative care, physicals and educational programs along with primary care. Staff will also refer patients to specialists, if necessary.
Columbus City Council has not yet acted to grant city employees access to the clinic. Instead, the city’s insurance commission has asked BMG for more information.
Councilmen will likely discuss the contract at their Tuesday meeting, said both Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong and Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell.
Mitchell said she feels the city will “more than likely” follow the county and CLW’s lead. Armstrong said city officials are still mulling over the contract.
“We just haven’t decided,” he said. “But I do believe we’re going to make a decision here very soon.”
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