Ernie Clevenger's CareHere team has been chosen by Montana officials to set up a clinic for 11,000 state employees and their dependents in the Helena area. The in-state team beaten out by CareHere says it will file a "formal response."

Onsite clinic company CareHere has won a contract with the city of Denton, Texas, to operate a facility adjacent to the local hospital. Denton, which has a population of about 120,000, is doing its best to make the arrangement lucrative for Ernie Clevenger and his CareHere team: Their rent is just $1 a year.

SEE ALSO: A 2010 Nashville Medical News profile of CareHere's growth

Seven-year-old CareHere on Thursday opened the doors to its walk-in clinic in Nashville International Airport. The 1,100-square-foot facility will offer basic medical care as well as various wellness products at a store. President and co-founder Ernie Clevenger is obviously targeting travelers but says the model also caters to airport workers and hinted at expanding the concept nationwide.

Gubbels said in the most conservative estimate, more than half of all those insured by the county would use the employee clinic the first year as others wait and watch. Savings would start to kick in the third year after its inception. After a decade, savings could reach $500,000 a year compared to the current costs, she said.

For one-in-five new CareHere patients, they haven’t seen a doctor in a decade. “That’s a huge statement,” Clevenger said. “This is not rocket science. This is just blocking and tackling. It’s removing the barriers to care.”