Marietta postponed voting on a plan Wednesday to open a health clinic for city workers and their dependents. Council member Van Pearlberg asked to table the vote after several of his constituents including a doctor called him this week with concerns about the standard of care at the clinic.
The council will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the clinic. The date has not been set for the meeting. Pearlberg said it will probably be next week. It will be open to the public. The council will reconsider opening a clinic at a special called council meeting before Oct. 1.
The council will have to vote on the clinic before approving the city’s group health plan. Open enrollment for city workers starts Nov. 1.
City manager Bill Bruton said the city, which is self insured, will pay $8.6 million for health insurance if the clinic is approved and $8.9 million without it.
The savings would come from lower overhead costs. Bruton said a clinic visit will cost about a third of what the city pays for a worker’s visit to a doctor’s office.
Employees would still have the choice of going to their regular doctors under the plan. The clinic would provide a cheaper alternative for treatment of minor ailments
Tucker McQueen
About the Author