A letter sent to current and retired employees of Lycoming County informing them that over-the-counter (OTC) medications will not be available at the Partnership Health Center was read by Commissioner Marc Sortman at this week’s commissioners’ meeting.

The response, according to Sortman, was immediate.

“The three of us were immediately criticized for mismanaging and overspending causing this result. This isn’t further from the truth. The three of us have cut millions of dollars in annual spending,” Sortman said.

“This decision was based upon the simple fact it was an expenditure that is the root of bad government. I would defy anyone to find a taxpayer, besides a government employee or retiree, that receives “over-the-counter drugs” at no charge to their healthcare plan. This is excessive in every sense of the word. So, it’s not mismanagement, it’s properly controlling taxpayers’ money,” he said.

The letter assured the employees that prescription medications remain unaffected by the change and “will continue to be dispensed and managed in accordance with existing policies and procedures.”

One of the action items on this week’s agenda was an agreement with Creative Benefits, Inc. to perform what Shannon Barnes, director of administration, called a “deep dive” or forensic audit to “see what the value of the health center is compared to our insurance and to see if we are truly getting a return on investment with the health center.”

The commissioners approved the agreement for services at a cost of $5,000 to be taken from contingency funds.

The Partnership Health Center, operated by Integrity Health officially opened in April 2023.

The center is located on the second floor of Third Street Plaza and offers employees best-practice primary care with same day appointments and health plan care coordination at no cost and no co-pays.

Prior to the opening of the health center, employee health care had been self-paid by the county. Rising healthcare costs were one of the driving forces for opening the center.

At that time, the commissioners, Richard Mirabito, Tony Mussare and Scott Metzger had cited figures from 2021 which put costs at $14 million-over double what it was in 2012 and expected to keep rising.

It was touted by a former commissioner as “the single best way to drive down the cost for taxpayers of health care.”

County employees and retirees receive care at the health center free of charge. That includes pharmacy services, which will now be limited to prescription drugs only.