For Santa Barbara County, it was money well spent: Sending Robinson-Stone 250 miles away for knee replacement surgery near San Diego saved the government $30,000. Santa Barbara County, with about 4,000 employees, is among a handful of public entities to join them. Santa Barbara officials try to persuade workers and their family members to participate in its program by waiving co-pays and deductibles. Santa Barbara County officials said they had no choice after seeing their medical costs soar by 15% in each of the last two years. Carrum tries to help employers like Santa Barbara County find more affordable options.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 31, 2017 14:31 UTC