Belleville school districts combat rising insurance costs with their own health clinic

In the new year, Belleville Township High School District 201 will open the doors to its new health and wellness clinic for District 201 and 118 staff and families.

The clinic, located on West Boulevard across from Belleville East, will be staffed by BJC HealthCare and provide a variety of health care services with no out-of-pocket costs for benefits-eligible employees and their dependents.

District 201 Superintendent Brian Mentzer said the clinic is designed to do two things: drive down the district’s insurance costs and provide a unique support system to staff.

The idea for the clinic came about when the district was exploring ways to reduce health care costs amid rising insurance premiums, Assistant Superintendent Dustin Bilbruck said.

He said the district met with consultants and insurance industry experts who all advised that establishing an onsite health clinic for staff will save the district money.

“They’ve seen it work. It’s recommended as something to try,” Bilbruck said. “For us, it’s about being as financially responsible as possible.”

Employer and employee contributions to health care premiums for both single and family coverage have been increasing for decades, according to health policy organization Kaiser Family Foundation. Those costs climbed faster in 2023 than they have in a decade, and 2024 doesn’t show much sign of improvement.

Bilbruck said the district has seen between 5-15% increases in its insurance premiums in recent years, which isn’t sustainable for an organization that employs as many people as District 201 does.

“Those costs are huge in the scheme of things, so if you can keep those year-over-year increases down through a program like this, it will save you big dollars,” he said.

While some savings will come from providing preventative care and therefore mitigating more costly claims down the line, the main way the clinic will save the district and taxpayers money is by putting itself in a competitive situation, according to Bilbruck.

If employees and their dependents go to the district’s clinic instead of elsewhere, insurance will be billed less. When the time comes for the district to renew its coverage, its premiums will go down.

According to data the district analyzed, up to 80% of the district’s initial insurance claims are for needs that could be serviced at the clinic.

The district has 532 insured employees, Bilbruck said. Taking into account employees’ dependents, the district provides insurance for nearly 1,000 individuals.

District 118 has about 450 benefits-eligible staff who will have access to the clinic, according to Superintendent Ryan Boike.

He said the district is joining with 201 on the effort because it’s a great opportunity for employees and their dependents to access health care similar to what they could get at an urgent care and will also make it easier for new hires to complete health-related requirements like physicals.

From an affordability standpoint, it will save employees and the district money, he added.

The clinic occupies a house District 201 has owned for years and recently been renovating. The house was previously used for storage, and before that, it was used for some of the district’s special education programs that are now at the Bridges Connections campus near Belleville West, according to Mentzer.

The facility will have a reception area, waiting room, offices and break rooms for BJC employees, and examination rooms. Another part of the building will be the office for the full-time mental health counselor who started last winter for District 201 and 118 staff that was made possible by a Memorial Foundation grant to District 118.

Since the beginning of the school year and while the clinic is being renovated, staff have had access to similar care at the BJC Convenient Care in Swansea, which will remain an option once the new clinic opens, Bilbruck said.

‘It’s a win-win’

Worksite health centers — often called health and wellness centers — are facilities where employers offer a wide range of services by licensed providers to eligible employees and dependents, according to the National Association of Worksite Health Centers. These centers can be located at or near the workplace, and some employers share near-site centers.

They are becoming more popular among employers, including school districts.

Belleville 201 and 118 are leading the way in the metro-east, but several districts across the Mississippi River have already adopted the approach.

In 2016, St. Charles School District opened its employee health clinic operated by Premise Health, and in 2017, Fort Zumwalt School District followed suit by opening a clinic operated by BarnesCare. Then in 2018, the Pattonville, Parkway and Francis Howell school districts teamed up to open at least one employee health clinic for each district operated by CareATC.

Several school districts on both sides of the river — including Cahokia 187, Collinsville 10 and East St. Louis 189 in the metro-east — have school-based health centers for both students and staff. This model has similarly been growing in recent decades as research, which was summarized in an article in the Journal of School Health, shows that poor health can be a barrier to student success, especially in areas where kids might not have access to health care otherwise.

Laura Wagner, the director of communications at Fort Zumwalt School District, said the district started its clinic six years ago as a way to save money in its budget and help staff save money on their health and wellness expenses.

She said the clinic minimizes provider expenses, which “saves taxpayer dollars.” Since many services are also provided without a co-pay, there are savings to the individual employees too, Wagner added.

“It’s a win-win,” Wagner said.

From Oct. 2017 to Dec. 2022, there were about 31,000 patient visits, an average of more than 6,000 annually. According to exit surveys, staff rated their experiences at the clinic an average 4.57/5 stars.

“Our team has truly embraced it,” Wagner said.

Some studies — like a 2018 study by the RAND Corporation that examined the outcomes of five school-based clinics for teachers and their families established at Metro Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee — have also pointed to the savings that employee health clinics can provide to school districts and teachers.

Future possibilities

Bilbruck said Districts 201 and 118 are working together on the model to see if it’s effective.

“We expect that it will be,” he said.

The districts are also expecting that there may be a time down the road when other school districts in the area may want to join as partners.

The clinic has capacity to serve more people than it will initially, according to Mentzer. Before any potential growth, however, the district wants to ensure the quality of care at the clinic and confirm its assumptions.

“We want to get it right,” he said.

Mentzer said there’s potential for the clinic to serve the needs of students in the future as well.