If your clients provide employees better access to primary care,they can add significant value to their benefits plan. Manybusinesses neglect not only the importance of primary carebenefits, but also the creative solutions that can give theirworkers a better experience while saving the company money. Byconsidering direct primary care as a tool in benefits packages youcan give your clients' businesses a competitive edge in the hiringmarket and cut costs at the same time.

Avoiding the ER

Including primary care in your clients' business insurance planis a strategy that can ultimately save tens of thousands of dollarsper year. In 2015, the John Hopkins School of Public Health (JHSPH)found that the average cost of a primary care visit is $160, whichis significantly lower than the average outpatient emergency roomvisit cost of $1,233, according to the NCBI,and the average hospital stay of $10,000, according to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.

Giving employees better primary care coverage can help themmanage chronic conditions and help their doctors detect potentialhealth problems before they become serious. For example, anemployee who's at risk for diabetes can get the guidance andtreatment they need from their primary care physician instead ofwaiting until they're on the verge of losing a limb. Thepreventative and maintenance services that primary care providescan help you reduce costs while keeping employees healthy.

More tools to cut costs

Your client's insurance plan doesn't have to cover primary carein order for employees to receive it. In fact, taking insurancecompanies out of the equation entirely and paying for employees'primary care can help the employer save money in the long runwithout compromising care for workers.

Direct primary care is one of the many tools advisors canimplement to help employers get the most from benefits plan whilepaying less. Research by the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine(JABFM) shows that direct primary care costs an average of only$77 per patient per month, or $924 per year. In other words, itwould take about a decade of direct primary care payments to equaljust one average hospital visit. Because business owners pay theprovider directly instead of going through their insurance company,they can also spend less than they would have if the employee hadfiled a claim for each PCP visit.

Related: Direct primary care 201

More options for a healthier workforce

Advisors can help employers determine whether employees' primarycare coverage should be included in your insurance plan or handleddirectly. To invest in this crucial step of the health care processis to invest in the long-term well-being of both workers and thebusiness as a whole, and advisers can help develop the toolsnecessary to deliver quality primary care to workers at a lowercost.