Employers Jump Into Providing Care as Health Costs Rise

U.S. companies are increasingly opening clinics on or near their work sites or bringing in temporary setups to ensure their employees get annual physicals, reports the Associated Press . The National Business Group on Health predicts 56 percent of large employers will have an on-site or nearby health center by 2019, up from 47 percent in 2016. In many cases, employers are offering free primary care or charging only a small fee, noting they can improve employee health and reduce even larger bills in the future that stem from unmanaged chronic conditions or unnecessary emergency room visits. Providing convenient care also can help entice new workers and cut down on time away from the job, but this transition means workers will have to change how they use the healthcare system. Furthermore, companies, which do not see individual medical records, must wait for some potential benefits from their investment, such as a drop in healthcare costs, to materialize. Most of the businesses surveyed by the National Business Group on Health have 10,000 or more employees, but benefits experts also see this trend expanding in smaller businesses, with some companies partnering to pay for a nearby clinic that they share.