Reflecting national fears of growing healthcare premiums, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, has been forced to contribute an additional $500,000 toward health insurance costs for county employees.
To compensate for a deficit created by the county's $7.1 million paid toward employee health benefits so far this year, the council unanimously approved to set aside $500,000 to cover the debt – allotting a significant portion of the county's $649,000 in undesignated funds.
The additional funding, although a strain on budget investment, did provide some reassurance in regards to the county's proposal to build an on-site wellness center to curb skyrocketing healthcare costs.
"As officials try to pay off this year's insurance bills, they also are looking ahead at ways to cut down on that expense in 2011," writes Dorothy Schneider in JConline.com. "A new employee health clinic, focusing on wellness and prevention measures, is expected to open in February."
The initiative in Tippecanoe is one of many wellness programs that are emerging across the country as part of a cultural move toward focusing on employee wellness as a means to limit business expenses during a rough economy.
