As healthcare prices soar, so do the number of school districts self-funding their health insurance. What does that mean? In essence, the school district becomes the insurance company. The district retains the premiums and use them to pay for claims out-of-pocket and fees as they are presented instead of paying a pre-determined premium to an insurance carrier for a fully funded plan. 

How does it save the district money? 

The district contracts with multiple exceptional medical care providers, including physicians, cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and so much more competitive prices. 

Their employees, and sometimes their dependents and retirees, have access to these high-quality providers at a low cost or no cost to the individual, depending on how the contract is set up. 

This model of care encourages employees to seek preventative services and to get help early if an injury does occur. 

Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine is an industry leader in direct contracting and onsite/near-site physical therapy and occupational therapy care 

With Advanced, the employees, dependents and retirees could have access to: 

• Specific injury prevention programs: 

  • District-wide stretch and flex programs take your injury prevention measures to the next level. Using the job site analysis, we can create programs specific to suit the needs of your employees and company. Notice we said stretch AND flex. At Advanced, we truly believe that a program incorporating stretching and strengthening is far superior to one with only stretching. 

  • Ergonomics training:  workplace ergonomics, body mechanics training and desk/classroom set up our part of our industry-leading prevention program.  

  • Education: Our goal is to educate and empower employees to take action. We utilize psychologically informed strategies to manage acute aches and pains, improve sleep/recovery, address mental health/trauma, improve nutrition to fuel their workday, and more.  

  • Psychological Safety: Stress, fatigue, and mental health issues are vital components to acknowledge when discussing employee safety, satisfaction, and overall well-being. Our providers are trained to identify, address, and connect employees with the necessary resources. 

  • Support: We know changing behavior takes time and multiple touchpoints and interactions before it is fully ingrained. Rounding, walking the floor, and working with your supervisors to coach the employee are very effective measures to reinforce body mechanics, ergonomics, and safety initiatives. 

• Unmatched Care: 

  • 24-7 musculoskeletal injury prevention and triage with Advanced On Demand. We also have options for additional support for telephone calls and live chat if you’d prefer direct contact with a human. 

  • Early Intervention: It is important to take care of the whole person. At Advanced, we believe in caring for personal injuries and the family unit (including spouses and dependents) with onsite or near-site physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or athletic training services. We also have options for baseline concussion testing and care, as they are more common in the industrial setting than you think.  

  • OSHA First Aid: Let’s prevent work-related reportable injuries from becoming recordable with OSHA First Aid. Under OSHA First Aid, we provide your employees with several approved interventions to address their reportable musculoskeletal discomforts and injuries. This may include job coaching, ergonomic analysis and training, job site analysis, soft tissue massage, KT taping, and education using company-wide resources. 

  • Workers’ Compensation: Workplace injuries may happen despite our best preventative measures. When they do, we aim to minimize days lost and money spent to get the employee back to work safely and efficiently. We work with a network of specialist physicians who manage workplace injuries. We can assist with coordinating with them to ensure that your employees are seen promptly and provided with a clear plan of action to manage their injuries. We then provide high-quality Physical and/or Occupational Therapy onsite or near-site to ensure a successful recovery. 

 *Several programs can be supported virtually or by telehealth, onsite at your facility, and/or near-site at ours. 

What happens to the money saved by becoming a self-funded school district? 

The money saved goes back to student education, facility needs, or employee cost of living increases. 

Who doesn’t love having more funding to serve their students and faculty better faculty?