EASTON, Pa. – Northampton County Council voted Thursday to continue blocking funding for an employee health center, but that does not mean the concept is dead.
Council voted in December to prohibit money going toward County Executive Lamont McClure’s proposed primary-care clinic for county employees and dependents. McClure vetoed that ordinance. Council needs six votes to override a veto, and prevailed 7-2 on Thursday.
The vote does not mean a lot. The administration can continue to pursue the plan, and as Council Vice President Ron Heckman pointed out, council approval would still be needed to spend money on the center and to approve its lease. The executive runs the county, but council controls the purse.
McClure spoke for about 25 minutes before the vote, making his case that retaining Integrity Health of New Jersey to run a “partnership health center” would benefit county employees and save millions of taxpayer dollars. He said the potential return on each dollar spent could be $1.20 or considerably more. Meanwhile, county employees would keep their current insurance.
Opposition about the plan came down to a lack of competitive bidding, concern about costs and some of the terminology surrounding the proposal, along with the potential reaction of the taxpaying public.
Commissioner John Cusick (councilmembers are known as commissioners) noted that a French term used to describe the service may bother county residents.
“To give government employees ‘concierge’ medicine — to some people in the public, that may be a little disconcerting,” he said.
A concierge is a hotel worker who provides special services, such as making dinner reservations, for special guests.
Cusick said he could support the idea if it went through competitive bidding, but perhaps with limits: “I think we can get by without free yoga.”
“This is a luxury — a luxury that we’re asking other people to pay for,” Commissioner John Goffredo said.
He pointed out that county employees already have health insurance, while Commissioner Tara Zrinski said the county should do more for its staff: “We should set the standard, and we should be groundbreaking pioneers.”
Goffredo also questioned the projected return on investment, known as ROI.
“All the information we’re making our decision on is coming from them,” he said, referring to Integrity Health, whose chief executive is Doug Forrester, a former Republican candidate for the governorship of New Jersey and the U.S. Senate.
“How do I know there’s not a company out there that can do it better?” Goffredo asked.
Commissioner John Brown said there may be other ways to address rising medical costs, and the process of McClure picking Integrity Health kept coming up.
“There should be competitive bidding,” Commissioner Lori Vargo Heffner said.
She has said the county usually puts out requests for proposals, or RFPs, to solicit bids for projects. She also objected to what she called “false narratives” that contend council is not looking out for employees.
Kerry Myers, presiding at his first meeting as council president, said some county employees fear that using the clinic could be mandatory in the future. McClure has said since the idea was presented in August that using the clinic would be optional.
During his pitch for the center, McClure pointed out that Integrity Health spent more than two hours before council. He delved into the mechanics of polls, including confidence intervals, to contend that a survey of employees showed strong support for the idea: 78% in favor, plus or minus 5%.
Goffredo suggested another poll: “I want to see the survey go to the taxpayers and see if they support it.”
During his report, McClure pointed out that competitive bidding is not always required and that council was always going to have a say in the decision.
“It was never going to be a rush to judgment or unilateral decision,” the executive said, noting that council has to approve any contract that exceeds $100,000. Council would also have to approve the lease for the center.
Startup costs for a “partnership health center” are estimated at about $2.5 million.
McClure said the county needs to find ways to save money as the cost of health care will only increase. Northampton County has saved $2.3 million since 2018 by providing telemedicine services to employees, he said.
Commissioner Kevin Lott said everybody faces rising health care costs, and the county needs to find ways beyond cutting benefits or raising taxes to meet that challenge.
The seven votes to override McClure’s veto and continue blocking funding were cast by Goffredo, Heckman, Myers, Vargo Heffner, Brown, Cusick and Thomas Giovanni. Voting to sustain McClure’s veto were Zrinski and Lott.
Council’s next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 19 in the government center in Easton. Agendas and a link to a YouTube broadcast will be available on the county website.
