The Bartlesville City Council voted Oct. 6 to approve a service agreement with Remedy Health to operate a direct primary care (DPC) clinic serving city employees and covered dependents.

City staff described the contract as a rare chance to both enhance employee benefits and trim the municipal health plan’s rising specialty drug costs. Officials said the city’s pharmacy spend on specialty drugs — notably GLP‑1 class medications — had climbed to roughly $1 million to $1.2 million per year and that the Remedy Health model would shift administration and dispensing of GLP‑1s into a clinic setting to cut pharmacy costs.

Why it matters: City staff told council that implementation would cost the city about $386,100 but would conservatively save more than $600,000 annually to the self‑insured medical plan. Staff said the program would begin with plan changes effective Jan. 2026 and the Remedy Health clinic would be prepared to serve employees in Bartlesville beginning Nov. 3, 2025.

What the contract does: Remedy Health — operated by physician Christopher Sudduth, M.D. — would provide primary care access (virtual and in‑clinic) and assume administration and dispensing of GLP‑1 medications through an Oklahoma‑based compounding pharmacy that the presenters said is inspected and licensed by the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy. Staff emphasized that the clinic would use FDA‑approved active ingredients and legal compounding practices; presenters said the partner pharmacy adds vitamin B6 to compounded GLP‑1 preparations to reduce nausea and that the pharmacy has been reviewed by regulators. The city’s insurance committee reviewed two DPC proposals and recommended Remedy Health based on cost, accessibility and prior municipal experience.

Employee impact: Staff said the DPC clinic is offered only to employees on the city health plan and their covered family members; staff said the arrangement would eliminate prior‑authorization and step‑therapy administrative hurdles for covered employees and would provide medication delivery to employees’ homes, aiming to avoid interruptions in therapy. Staff said many covered employees currently pay small monthly amounts for medications (staff cited a range of roughly $25–$40 per month in discussion) while the Remedy arrangement would provide clinic and medication access to covered employees at no cost under the negotiated contract.

Vendor remarks: Dr. Sudduth told the council, "Our mission at Remedy Health is to rescue patients and other physicians . . . from the broken, abusive, harmful, greedy, predatory health care system." He described Remedy Health’s municipal experience and said other municipalities achieved substantial savings under the DPC model.

Vote and next steps: Council voted in favor (recorded roll call: Sherrick — aye; East — aye; Kirkpatrick — aye; Vice Mayor Dorsey — aye; Mayor James S. Kurd — aye). Staff said the city will run employee education meetings, execute plan adjustments for January 2026, and prepare the clinic to begin patient care Nov. 3, 2025.