AUSTIN, Minn. — A novel collaboration with a local membership provider —
— and an Iowa insurance company was able to save used car dealerships money and provide more accessible health care for their employees.
HELPcare Clinic, which opened in Austin in 2022 and later opened a Rochester office, offers monthly memberships for individuals, couples and families that cover unlimited appointments with no per-appointment fee.
Dr. David Strobel and former Mayo Clinic communications executive Lee Arce founded HelpCare Clinic.
Membership includes over 80 common blood tests and 2 generic prescriptions at no copay. The clinic offers a wide range of basic medical services, from stitches to electrocardiograms to healthy lifestyle guidance.
Membership has grown every month to 783 members, Aase said. Membership prices range from $149 per month for individuals to $249 per month for couples and $349 per month for families.
“We're happy with the level of growth we've seen so far,” Arce said. “Running a clinic is a new experience. We are learning a lot. It has been a really exciting and encouraging experience.”
Our partnership with NorthRisk Partners, which operates in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, has added new policy options that include Help Care Clinic membership. The goal is to provide a new option for businesses and individuals who avoid going to the doctor due to cost.
“There are more and more people who are, as we like to call them, 'functionally uninsured.' “I'm scared of that,” said Colton Stolla of NorthRisk Partners. “It's not like auto insurance or homeowners insurance. It's gotten to the point where people can't afford insurance and they can't afford not to have insurance.”
Stolla worked in a similar primary care practice in Iowa, which caught Aase's attention. They have created a policy that covers all serious medical issues, taking advantage of the fact that most primary care services are available without the worry of copays or deductibles.
“Finding a consultant at North Risk Partners who could utilize Help Care Clinic membership as a key component of a complete employer health insurance plan was a game-changer. We call it 'health insurance with HELPcare,''' says Aase.
They recently pitched the new plan to some businesses in Austin, and Medgarden's Southwest Sales was the first to sign up to offer the plan to its employees.
“As a family business, we have always felt it important to take care of our employees, and providing health insurance was part of that,” co-owner Spencer Medgarden said in announcing the new plan. ” he said. “However, costs have been rising each year, and this year's update was expected to increase the deductible by $300, an increase of 9.4%.”
Mr. Medgarden was listening to a customer, Dr. Strobel, talk about the HELPcare clinic. Mr. Medgarden liked the concept, but made it clear that he could not pay employee dues on top of their current insurance plans.
“We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we could offer this additional benefit while reducing overall costs for our business and lowering barriers to health care for our employees,” he said.
In lieu of increased premiums, NorthRisk insurance combined with HelpCare Clinic membership saved Medgarden's Southwest Sales more than 20% over its previous employee insurance program.
Under this policy, MedGarden employees have in-network access to Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center staff and services. You can also access as many primary care services as you need from HELPcare clinics in Austin and Rochester at no additional cost.
Of Medgarden's 21 employees, 10 have health insurance with the HELPcare plan.
