Garfield County Partnering With Non-Profit To Help Lower Health Insurance Costs

Garfield County has one medical health insurance supplier and one hospital, inflicting residents to typically pay greater than their mortgage for fundamental medical health insurance. 

To assist decrease the prices, Garfield County’s Board of County Commissioners unanimously agreed finally week’s assembly to companion with Peak Well being Alliance, a non-profit that helps communities discount decrease medical health insurance prices.

Garfield County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky stated the county paid $25,000 via a supplemental price range for analysis to search out precisely what the county’s medical wants are.

They’ll then resolve early subsequent yr in the event that they wish to spend one other $25,000 to begin working with Peak Well being Alliance to barter decrease prices with native well being care suppliers.

“I consider it’s going to go ahead. I wouldn’t have dedicated the primary $25,000 if I didn’t suppose we weren’t in a position to transfer ahead with this,” Jankovsky stated. “However we received’t know for certain till we get the knowledge again.”

CEO of Peak Well being Alliance, Tamara Drangtveit, stated once they started working with Summit County on the finish of 2018, they helped the county decrease their well being care premiums by practically 20 %. 

She stated the info will present what the most important value drivers are, or what county residents are paying essentially the most for in the case of medical are. These drivers will then assist resolve how Peak Well being Alliance and Garfield County ought to negotiate with native well being care suppliers to decrease prices. 

“When Peak begins to work in a group or with a group, we at all times begin with the info,” Drangtveit stated. “Then that information will inform a narrative, then we’ll begin to implement technique primarily based on what that story tells us.”

If Garfield County’s Board of County Commissioners decides to begin negotiating after seeing the info, they may pay one other $25,000 to Peak Well being Alliance, probably reducing charges by greater than 10 %.