When Northampton County Council blocked County Executive Lamont G. McClure’s plan for an employee health center, the executive said the next elections might clear the way.
Democrats won three of four County Council races in November, but as of Tuesday, the new 5-3 Democrat majority may not be enough.
Council’s three Republicans — John Brown, John Goffredo and Thomas Giovanni — joined with Democrats Ron Heckman and Lori Vargo Heffner to elect Vargo Heffner as council president, and Heckman as vice president. All five voted to block spending on a health center in 2023.
There are three new members — Ken Kraft (a former council member and council president), Jeff Warren and Kelly Keegan, and one vacancy. Democrat Tara Zrinski resigned effective Tuesday before she was sworn in as County Controller.
“The center would save the taxpayers $5 million to $10 million over the first five years,” McClure said Tuesday.
His plan was for a center providing primary care for free, while employees would retain their health insurance. The center would be convenient for county workers and their dependents, and help the county avoid picking up higher bills at hospitals and emergency rooms.
Now, it may take another election cycle for the center to become a reality, the executive said Tuesday.
When Council opposed the center, members cited concerns about cost, the potential for employees to be required to use a center, and the choice of Integrity Health of New Jersey to operate the center.
The start-up costs are an issue, Council President Lori Vargo Heffner said Tuesday after the first council meeting of 2024.
As other council members note, the Lehigh Valley is home to St. Luke’s University Health Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network.
“They’re here and they already have the footprint,” she said of the two hospital groups, also noting the Geissinger Health System, based to the west in Danville, Montour County.
Vargo Heffner is a St. Luke’s employee, but said she is not involved in the kind of decision-making related to providing a county health center.
County Council will next meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, at the government center in Easton. The meeting agenda and a link to its YouTube broadcast will be posted in advance.
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