Blue Lake Rancheria is best known for the Blue Lake Casino, a destination in Northern California for those who want to try their luck at the slots or gaming tables.
But when Blue Lake employees require major surgery, their medical destination could be at a Companion Global Healthcare network facility outside of the United States. The company added a medical travel plan in 2008, followed by a dental travel plan the next year.
Human Resources Director Jack Norton explained to National Public Radio’s “Marketplace” that employees who opt to use the medical travel benefit pay no deductible, no copay, and can even receive a savings stipend equal to 10% of what the company saved by having a procedure performed overseas.
“Health reform, to me, is a goal of reducing medical costs,” Norton said on “Marketplace.” “And I haven’t seen any significant strategy that has the potential to reduce costs like medical tourism.”
Norton helped start up the Blue Lake Casino & Hotel in 2002 along with the starting and directing the Blue Lake Rancheria health plan in 2003. The Blue Lake Rancheria consists of approximately 91 acres within the traditional territory of the Wiyot people near the picturesque city of Blue Lake, 17 miles north of Eureka. This largely rural terrain is situated between the Northern California coastal mountains and the Pacific Ocean, bordered by forests and majestic California Redwood trees.
The casino’s benefits plan is bundled and includes medical, dental, vision, pharmaceutical, and wellness benefits. In January 2008, the plan added medical travel and in 2009 added dental travel to its benefits to help reduce large claims and increase value to plan members.
“Our approach has always been about to emphasize wellness and prevention, not just administer and pay bills,” Norton said. “This approach aims to improve individual lifestyles, choices, and overall health, thereby reducing our average annual cost per member as compared to similar population groups.”
Blue Lake Rancheria remains a cutting-edge employer by offering medical travel and incentivizing employees to try it. Medical travel strengthens the benefit plan by essentially expanding the coverage while at the same time potentially reducing the medical trend. Norton recognized early the importance of a creative and innovative benefit design. Traveling abroad for surgery or other procedures can be a tough sell, and the innovative cash incentive was added later as a way to further entice employees. All Companion Global Healthcare network facilities have earned accreditation from the Joint Commission International, the international arm of the same organization that accredits American hospitals.
“Further, we believe that individuals have a degree of personal responsibility to maintain a healthy lifestyle and at the same time we realize that heredity, family history, and most environmental (issues) are factors beyond the control of the individual,” Norton said. “Through careful plan design, while avoiding unintended consequences, personal responsibility, a share of costs, and cost reduction efforts helps build healthy, cost-conscious consumers.”
- Company: Blue Lake Rancheria
- Website: www.bluelakerancheria-nsn.gov
- No. of employees: 360
- Nature of business: Tribal government, grant funded programs, hotel/casino and retail operations.
Key Executives:
- Arla Ramsey, tribal administrator/CEO
- Eric Ramos, president of Business Operations
Key solution providers: 
- California Foundation for Medical Care, third party administrator
- Restat, pharmacy benefits management
- VSP, vision services