Marathon Health continues to provide savings and improve the health of Lexington County government employees
June 15, 2016
BURLINGTON, Vt. and LEXINGTON, S.C.— Marathon Health, Inc. and Lexington County Government in Lexington, S.C., today announced year end results for the second year of operations for the County’s employee health center.
In partnership with Marathon Health, the County opened the Lexington County Employee Health & Wellness Center in February 2014. Since then, the health center has engaged 69% of eligible employees and 48% of the dependent population. In the second year of operations, there were 20% more visits than the first year, with an average of more than 380 visits per month.
Marathon Health providers, including a physician, physician assistant, nurse, and two medical assistants, offer total population health management to County employees and their families. Services include primary care, health assessments, health coaching, and support to manage chronic conditions.
By helping employees improve their health through primary and preventive care services, the partnership reduces medical costs for the County. Marathon Health’s total population health management model moves away from ‘sick care’ toward a solution focused on the whole person, not just their symptoms. The model is designed to help individuals across the health continuum maintain or improve their health status, while at the same time helping employers reduce the increasing burden of healthcare costs. After two years, the County has seen a gross savings of $4.8 million in medical claims.
Much of the cost savings comes from addressing the needs of the most at-risk population. Eighty-one percent of the County employee and dependent population identified as high-risk or with chronic conditions visit the health center, and 62% of at-risk employees are making progress in several risk categories.
“Along with a comprehensive wellness program that includes the health center, we’re making real change in the health of county employees, which is resulting greatly in medical claims savings,” said Joe Mergo, Lexington County Administrator. “We are very pleased to show that the results exceeded our expectations in key areas of improving health, patient satisfaction, and cost savings.”
The Lexington County Government Health and Wellness Center results reflect a carefully constructed health services benefit plan that includes an incentive program and benefit plan design that supports participants in making health improvements. The solution provides convenient and affordable care to employees and their dependents.
“The culture of health in Lexington County Government, along with an integrated approach to help employees and their families get healthy and stay healthy, has resulted in the dual benefit of supporting population health and saving the community money,” said Marathon Health CEO Jerry Ford.
