Healthcare expenses are one of the primary budgetary concerns of most American companies in recent years, and there is evidence that this issue will only continue to get worse. Many employers are starting to look for creative ways to ease the burden of healthcare not only for themselves, but also for their employees. Onsite clinics are an excellent option to help alleviate the growing cost of healthcare, but you will need to go into the process with a plan. Here are a few tips on how to budget for your onsite clinic.

Current Cost Analysis

Get right to it. Download our Budget Builder Worksheet.

Much of what you may need to begin operating an on-site clinic is most likely already being allocated to high-expense healthcare benefits currently being offered to your employees. If you take a deep dive into the costs that you are incurring through your current health offerings, you may find some discouraging information.

There is an increasing trend of people moving away from regular, routine visits to the doctor. The healthcare system is time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating for many, and often requires employees to take time off of work in order to visit a doctor's office. So, people tend to prefer to ignore little ailments and wait until things get bad to seek any kind of treatment. This leads to more and more people going into the higher expense facilities like emergency rooms and urgent care clinics instead of utilizing a primary care physician or clinic.

What's the difference between traditional healthcare and an onsite clinic? Click here to find out.

Consider All Options

Building and staffing an onsite clinic from the ground-up is an amazing opportunity to realize immense, long-term cost-savings for you and your employees, while also increasing employee wellness and morale. However, it is a significant up-front investment of time, resources, and finances.

If you aren't sure you'll be able to establish the budget for onsite clinic, you can also look into near-site or shared options. With these options, you wouldn't have to cover the cost of building and staffing your own clinic, but could enter into a partnership to build, or join into an established clinic with another company. You will have less control over future potential savings with these options, but the up-front costs will also be lower.

Start Small

Maybe you aren't sure that your employees would even utilize an on-site clinic. You can start out small, perhaps bringing in an on-site chiropractor once a week or investing in a fitness program with a nearby facility. A culture of wellness is something that can be built up and encouraged within your company. If your employees care about their health and wellness, they will be more likely to want to do things to stay well like going to regular check-ups and taking preventative health measures. If you're able to build an overall focus on wellness within your company, it may be easier to justify the cost of building an on-site clinic because you know that your employees would care enough about their health to use it.

Pair Up With A Vendor

The best way to establish an exhaustive concept of what it will take to implement an onsite clinic within your workplace is to work with a clinic vendor. [Read how to select a vendor, here.] These companies have experience with design, implementation, staffing, and operating onsite clinics and will be able to assist you with doing a cost analysis, establishing an accurate budget, and realizing potential ROI.