EDINBURG — The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is the latest institution to become part of the UT Health Network effective this month, a move that allows the university to provide all employees and retirees with access to low-cost medical treatment.

“Employees and retirees who participate in the UT Health System’s benefits plan, UT SELECT, can receive discounted copays and other benefits when they visit UT Health RGV clinical sites and our local health systems-affiliated graduate medical education residency centers, as part of the UT System’s UT Health Network,” announced UTRGV School of Medicine Dean Dr. John Krouse in an internal letter sent Aug. 31.

Effective this month, UTRGV will be part of the UT-System Health Network which offers lower copays for employees and retirees seeking treatment from a UT physicians working outside of university clinics, system-affiliated graduate medical residency centers and those getting treated at employee clinics through the program UT SELECT.

Starting Oct. 1, two local employee clinics will open in the Valley, one in Harlingen located at 2106 Treasure Hills Blvd., and one at the Edinburg campus’ Research Education Building, which will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with appointments or walk-in visits. At these clinics the copay though the program will be $10 for an office visit.

The Harlingen location is the home of the UT Health Neurology center and offers pediatric and adult neurology care, while the Edinburg location will offer employee urgent care and acute care services, the letter states. UTRGV is in the process of securing a location in Brownsville hoping to open an employee clinic in 2019.

Those seeking care with UT physicians outside of these employee clinics will be eligible for a $20 copay for primary care and $25 copay for specialists. Outside of the UT SELECT program these copays are from $10 to $20 higher, according to the UT Health Network website.

The employee clinics will be staffed by licensed and board-certified healthcare professionals, Krouse states in his letter, including faculty from the School of Medicine, School of Nursing and the College of Health Affairs. And the university plans to continue searching for specialists in areas of high need for Valley residents.

“Through these medical centers, UTRGV employees and their families will have access to excellent, cutting-edge healthcare,” Krouse stated. “We are continuing to recruit specialists who offer services that are much needed in the community, because what matters to your health, matters to us.”