Toyota's health cost cure: A clinic at the plant site
11-08-06, 07:27 AM
#1
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Toyota's health cost cure: A clinic at the plant site
Toyota's health cost cure: A clinic at the plant site
With tab of $11,000 per U.S. worker, automaker will invest $9M in San Antonia facility
Detroit's automakers are not the only ones grappling with soaring health-care costs. They are becoming an issue for Toyota Motor Corp., as well, as the Japanese giant expands its U.S. manufacturing operations and work force.
"Our health care costs have doubled over the past five years," to more than $11,000 a year per U.S. plant worker, said Ford Brewer, assistant general manager for health and wellness at Toyota's North American manufacturing headquarters.
In designing its newest plant, in San Antonio, Toyota is trying to tackle the problem by building a clinic at the factory to provide a wider array of treatments and services than a typical factory medical office.
The workers at the San Antonio pickup plant can have their eyes checked and their teeth repaired at the $9 million clinic, which also offers pediatric services, laboratory tests and physical therapy.
"This is a major step beyond what we've done before," Brewer said.
The move, however, is consistent with Toyota's bedrock principle of kaizen, or continuous improvement.
"Typically we reduce costs by improving quality," Brewer said. "That's the same thing we're doing here."
By offering better primary care and preventive medicine, Toyota expects to rein in its health-care expenses.
Companies that have adopted this approach tend to spend more for primary care and drugs, but that increase is more than offset by a drop in costly hospitalization and specialty care expenses, Toyota said.
The San Antonio clinic is the first of its kind at Toyota, said plant manager Hidehiko "T.J." Tajima.
"It's for employees, their families and for suppliers. If it's successful, we'll spread the concept to other plants."
Toyota will employ 2,000 workers at the truck plant by spring, while suppliers on the site will employ 2,100.
Toyota will gauge the success of the clinic by monitoring employees' health-care indicators, such as smoking-cessation rates and blood-pressure levels, and by tracking expenses.
"From a cost control standpoint, it certainly makes sense," said Ronald Harbour, president of Troy-based Harbour Consulting Inc., which specializes in manufacturing.
U.S. automakers are deeply frustrated by the rapid increases in health-care costs. In addition, "they feel they have very little control over the cost and over how effectively the money is spent. This is one answer," Harbour said.
An on-site clinic also is likely to reduce the absenteeism rate.
While a clinic a few minutes from the assembly line may seem convenient to many workers, others may worry about their privacy, some auto industry experts say.
Ford Motor Co. operated a clinic at the Rouge plant in the 1950s that offered basic health-care and dental services. "There used to be a bed ward where employees were kept overnight," said William Heckman, executive physician at Ford Motor Co.
"The trend has been to move away from doing personal care, to focusing on occupational injuries, as employees got better health-care coverage," he said.
Ford believes most employees prefer to go to their own doctor.
Honda Motor Co. also encourages employees to choose their doctors, although it has two wellness centers at plants in Ohio offering physical therapy, massages, and exercise and nutrition classes to encourage workers to stay healthy and fit.
Toyota would not require San Antonio workers to go to the on-site clinic, but it encourages them to do so by charging higher co-pays and deductibles for workers who choose to go elsewhere.
"Is that like Big Brother providing my health-care? We had to deal with similar concerns with our pharmacies a couple of years ago," Brewer said.
When Toyota installed pharmacies at U.S. plants to lower its drug costs, some employees expressed concerns about their privacy.
But now more than 80 percent of the drugs purchased by employees are bought from the plant pharmacies or the mail-order service, Brewer said.
A spokesman for the United Auto Workers union declined to comment specifically on Toyota's program.
"The primary concern of our members is that the interest of the patient always comes first in any health care delivery system," said UAW spokesman Roger Kerson. The UAW believes that a comprehensive national health insurance program, as Japan and other industrialized countries have, is the answer to the U.S. health care crisis.
While Toyota is intent on holding down health-care costs, company officials say the system also will benefit employees.
"We want to provide high-quality care," said John Runge, manager of human resources for the Texas plant.
The clinic's physicians will not be remunerated on the basis of how many patients they see -- a payment method that encourages doctors to see as many patients as possible.
Whereas studies show doctors spend around seven minutes on average with patients in the United States, the San Antonio clinic will allot 20 minutes for a visit with a doctor.
"If a doctor spends 20 minutes with a patient, he's likely to know more. There's a major focus on prevention," Brewer said.
The clinic, which will be operated by CHD Meridian Health Care, will initially employ two full-time doctors and one part-time, but expects to increase that to as many as seven doctors when the plant is fully staffed.
With tab of $11,000 per U.S. worker, automaker will invest $9M in San Antonia facility
Detroit's automakers are not the only ones grappling with soaring health-care costs. They are becoming an issue for Toyota Motor Corp., as well, as the Japanese giant expands its U.S. manufacturing operations and work force.
"Our health care costs have doubled over the past five years," to more than $11,000 a year per U.S. plant worker, said Ford Brewer, assistant general manager for health and wellness at Toyota's North American manufacturing headquarters.
In designing its newest plant, in San Antonio, Toyota is trying to tackle the problem by building a clinic at the factory to provide a wider array of treatments and services than a typical factory medical office.
The workers at the San Antonio pickup plant can have their eyes checked and their teeth repaired at the $9 million clinic, which also offers pediatric services, laboratory tests and physical therapy.
"This is a major step beyond what we've done before," Brewer said.
The move, however, is consistent with Toyota's bedrock principle of kaizen, or continuous improvement.
"Typically we reduce costs by improving quality," Brewer said. "That's the same thing we're doing here."
By offering better primary care and preventive medicine, Toyota expects to rein in its health-care expenses.
Companies that have adopted this approach tend to spend more for primary care and drugs, but that increase is more than offset by a drop in costly hospitalization and specialty care expenses, Toyota said.
The San Antonio clinic is the first of its kind at Toyota, said plant manager Hidehiko "T.J." Tajima.
"It's for employees, their families and for suppliers. If it's successful, we'll spread the concept to other plants."
Toyota will employ 2,000 workers at the truck plant by spring, while suppliers on the site will employ 2,100.
Toyota will gauge the success of the clinic by monitoring employees' health-care indicators, such as smoking-cessation rates and blood-pressure levels, and by tracking expenses.
"From a cost control standpoint, it certainly makes sense," said Ronald Harbour, president of Troy-based Harbour Consulting Inc., which specializes in manufacturing.
U.S. automakers are deeply frustrated by the rapid increases in health-care costs. In addition, "they feel they have very little control over the cost and over how effectively the money is spent. This is one answer," Harbour said.
An on-site clinic also is likely to reduce the absenteeism rate.
While a clinic a few minutes from the assembly line may seem convenient to many workers, others may worry about their privacy, some auto industry experts say.
Ford Motor Co. operated a clinic at the Rouge plant in the 1950s that offered basic health-care and dental services. "There used to be a bed ward where employees were kept overnight," said William Heckman, executive physician at Ford Motor Co.
"The trend has been to move away from doing personal care, to focusing on occupational injuries, as employees got better health-care coverage," he said.
Ford believes most employees prefer to go to their own doctor.
Honda Motor Co. also encourages employees to choose their doctors, although it has two wellness centers at plants in Ohio offering physical therapy, massages, and exercise and nutrition classes to encourage workers to stay healthy and fit.
Toyota would not require San Antonio workers to go to the on-site clinic, but it encourages them to do so by charging higher co-pays and deductibles for workers who choose to go elsewhere.
"Is that like Big Brother providing my health-care? We had to deal with similar concerns with our pharmacies a couple of years ago," Brewer said.
When Toyota installed pharmacies at U.S. plants to lower its drug costs, some employees expressed concerns about their privacy.
But now more than 80 percent of the drugs purchased by employees are bought from the plant pharmacies or the mail-order service, Brewer said.
A spokesman for the United Auto Workers union declined to comment specifically on Toyota's program.
"The primary concern of our members is that the interest of the patient always comes first in any health care delivery system," said UAW spokesman Roger Kerson. The UAW believes that a comprehensive national health insurance program, as Japan and other industrialized countries have, is the answer to the U.S. health care crisis.
While Toyota is intent on holding down health-care costs, company officials say the system also will benefit employees.
"We want to provide high-quality care," said John Runge, manager of human resources for the Texas plant.
The clinic's physicians will not be remunerated on the basis of how many patients they see -- a payment method that encourages doctors to see as many patients as possible.
Whereas studies show doctors spend around seven minutes on average with patients in the United States, the San Antonio clinic will allot 20 minutes for a visit with a doctor.
"If a doctor spends 20 minutes with a patient, he's likely to know more. There's a major focus on prevention," Brewer said.
The clinic, which will be operated by CHD Meridian Health Care, will initially employ two full-time doctors and one part-time, but expects to increase that to as many as seven doctors when the plant is fully staffed.
11-08-06, 09:10 AM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
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Awesome. And a fraction of the cost of Howard Dean's government 'universal' healthcare.
11-08-06, 09:18 AM
#3
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Interesting. I've often wondered when companies would start doing this. I didn't read the whole article, but I wonder if the money they'll save on health care (people still need health insurance for things beyond ear infections and sore throats) will be enough to offset the cost of running a clinic? It's not as simple as just putting in an examing table, and stocking some gauze pads. You have to staff the unit with trained professionals, pay for supplies and meds, malpractice insurance, etc etc. Obviously, it must be cost-effective or they wouldn't be doing it. I'd just like to see the breakdown/ROI.
11-08-06, 09:53 AM
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Actually, I think that's pretty cheap compared to smaller companies, which can't buy into the less expensive plans. I recall from a job I held about 6 years ago, that the monthly cost per employee for health care coverage was roughly $800/month. Yeah, I'ts gone up a lot since then. Ouch.
11-08-06, 10:01 AM
#6
Actually, I think that's pretty cheap compared to smaller companies, which can't buy into the less expensive plans. I recall from a job I held about 6 years ago, that the monthly cost per employee for health care coverage was roughly $800/month. Yeah, I'ts gone up a lot since then. Ouch.
i need to visit my doctor more just to make it worth it @_@
11-08-06, 11:08 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
SICK do you have a source for that article? I am writing a lengthy term paper on the demand for healthcare and how it has been affected by the recent trends in ESI (Employer-Sponsored Insurance) plan participation rates....this article could be a good reference as a viable solution to the problem.
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11-09-06, 11:48 AM
#8
Super Moderator
Toyota Puts CHD Meridian Healthcare in the Driver's Seat to Manage New Workplace Health Center
CHD Meridian Healthcare Selected to Provide Preventative and Primary Care
Services for Toyota's New San Antonio Plant
CHADDS FORD, Pa., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CHD Meridian
Healthcare, an I-trax, Inc. company (Amex: DMX) and the leader in health
and productivity management, announced today that it has been selected by
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas (TMMTX) to provide workplace healthcare
services for the company's new San Antonio plant scheduled to open in
November 2006.
The San Antonio healthcare center will be the eighth site at which CHD
Meridian Healthcare provides on-site healthcare services for Toyota. As the
leading provider of workplace health centers, CHD Meridian Healthcare will
staff the health center and manage its day-to-day activities.
The Toyota Family Health Center will offer preventative and primary
healthcare services, including family practice, internal medicine,
pediatrics, dental, optometry, rehabilitation/physical therapy, radiology,
lab services and occupational health services. Located in a
20,000-square-foot facility, the center will serve the more than 2,000 team
members and their dependants as well as many TMMTX suppliers.
CHD Meridian is also spearheading the implementation of additional
programs to ensure access for patients to high-quality healthcare services
in the community. To help drive this initiative, CHD Meridian identified
and contracted Wise Provider Networks, a Utah-based corporation, to develop
a network of specialized healthcare providers to support the Toyota Family
Health Center. Wise Provider Networks has enlisted more than 300
physicians, specialists and other care providers in the San Antonio area as
referral resources to the CHD Meridian Healthcare staff.
"CHD Meridian looked for us to help further enhance their rich
healthcare offering. We believe this system will provide an exceptional
level of healthcare for Toyota's team members," said Wise Provider
Networks' president, Allison Robbins. "This combination of on-site
resources, coupled with a wide and deep referral network, is an ideal
solution for Toyota."
"We are extremely honored to have this opportunity to expand our valued
relationship with Toyota to include our first Primary Care center with
them," said I-trax's chief executive officer, R. Dixon Thayer. "We believe
that delivering primary care and preventive services at the workplace
provides our clients with a powerful employee benefit that delivers
convenient access to high-quality healthcare for employees, retirees and
their families while providing cost savings for the individual as well as
the company."
About CHD Meridian Healthcare
CHD Meridian Healthcare, an I-trax company, is the leading provider of
integrated workplace health and productivity management solutions. Serving
nearly 100 clients at over 210 locations nationwide, CHD Meridian offers
on-site health centers, which deliver primary care, acute care corporate
health, occupational health and pharmacy care management services as well
as integrated disease management, wellness and lifestyle management
programs. CHD Meridian provides a comprehensive solution utilizing
telephonic and e-health tools to enhance the trusted relationship
established by its clinicians at the worksite. CHD Meridian is focused on
helping companies achieve employer of choice status, making the workplace
safe, improving the quality of care and the productivity of the workforce
while mitigating healthcare costs. Managing employer-sponsored health
centers for over 40 years, some of CHD Meridian Healthcare's clients
include: BMW, Blue Ridge Paper, Coors Brewing Company, Coushatta Casino
Resort, DENSO Manufacturing Michigan, Deutsche Bank, Eastman Chemical,
Fieldale Farms, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Lowe's,
Toyota, UnumProvident and US Steel. For more information, visit
http://www.chdmeridian.com.
Services for Toyota's New San Antonio Plant
CHADDS FORD, Pa., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CHD Meridian
Healthcare, an I-trax, Inc. company (Amex: DMX) and the leader in health
and productivity management, announced today that it has been selected by
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas (TMMTX) to provide workplace healthcare
services for the company's new San Antonio plant scheduled to open in
November 2006.
The San Antonio healthcare center will be the eighth site at which CHD
Meridian Healthcare provides on-site healthcare services for Toyota. As the
leading provider of workplace health centers, CHD Meridian Healthcare will
staff the health center and manage its day-to-day activities.
The Toyota Family Health Center will offer preventative and primary
healthcare services, including family practice, internal medicine,
pediatrics, dental, optometry, rehabilitation/physical therapy, radiology,
lab services and occupational health services. Located in a
20,000-square-foot facility, the center will serve the more than 2,000 team
members and their dependants as well as many TMMTX suppliers.
CHD Meridian is also spearheading the implementation of additional
programs to ensure access for patients to high-quality healthcare services
in the community. To help drive this initiative, CHD Meridian identified
and contracted Wise Provider Networks, a Utah-based corporation, to develop
a network of specialized healthcare providers to support the Toyota Family
Health Center. Wise Provider Networks has enlisted more than 300
physicians, specialists and other care providers in the San Antonio area as
referral resources to the CHD Meridian Healthcare staff.
"CHD Meridian looked for us to help further enhance their rich
healthcare offering. We believe this system will provide an exceptional
level of healthcare for Toyota's team members," said Wise Provider
Networks' president, Allison Robbins. "This combination of on-site
resources, coupled with a wide and deep referral network, is an ideal
solution for Toyota."
"We are extremely honored to have this opportunity to expand our valued
relationship with Toyota to include our first Primary Care center with
them," said I-trax's chief executive officer, R. Dixon Thayer. "We believe
that delivering primary care and preventive services at the workplace
provides our clients with a powerful employee benefit that delivers
convenient access to high-quality healthcare for employees, retirees and
their families while providing cost savings for the individual as well as
the company."
About CHD Meridian Healthcare
CHD Meridian Healthcare, an I-trax company, is the leading provider of
integrated workplace health and productivity management solutions. Serving
nearly 100 clients at over 210 locations nationwide, CHD Meridian offers
on-site health centers, which deliver primary care, acute care corporate
health, occupational health and pharmacy care management services as well
as integrated disease management, wellness and lifestyle management
programs. CHD Meridian provides a comprehensive solution utilizing
telephonic and e-health tools to enhance the trusted relationship
established by its clinicians at the worksite. CHD Meridian is focused on
helping companies achieve employer of choice status, making the workplace
safe, improving the quality of care and the productivity of the workforce
while mitigating healthcare costs. Managing employer-sponsored health
centers for over 40 years, some of CHD Meridian Healthcare's clients
include: BMW, Blue Ridge Paper, Coors Brewing Company, Coushatta Casino
Resort, DENSO Manufacturing Michigan, Deutsche Bank, Eastman Chemical,
Fieldale Farms, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Lowe's,
Toyota, UnumProvident and US Steel. For more information, visit
http://www.chdmeridian.com.
11-09-06, 12:00 PM
#9
Super Moderator
It must be SUPER frustrating that employeees will complain about privacy. Yes, there is a privacy issue with your employer having a clinic, but there's always been a privacy issue with your employer supplying your health insurance to begin with!
This is a step towards becoming a more family oriented work environment for the United States. Other countries, particularly those in Europe, have already had well established health care infrastructures for working people...not to mention the gratuitous maternity leave, family care, etc. The money-driven capitalist ventures of many US firms neglected to realize for decades that by taking care of employees needs, the company will run more efficiently.
This is a step towards becoming a more family oriented work environment for the United States. Other countries, particularly those in Europe, have already had well established health care infrastructures for working people...not to mention the gratuitous maternity leave, family care, etc. The money-driven capitalist ventures of many US firms neglected to realize for decades that by taking care of employees needs, the company will run more efficiently.
11-10-06, 01:37 AM
#10
It must be SUPER frustrating that employeees will complain about privacy. Yes, there is a privacy issue with your employer having a clinic, but there's always been a privacy issue with your employer supplying your health insurance to begin with!
This is a step towards becoming a more family oriented work environment for the United States. Other countries, particularly those in Europe, have already had well established health care infrastructures for working people...not to mention the gratuitous maternity leave, family care, etc. The money-driven capitalist ventures of many US firms neglected to realize for decades that by taking care of employees needs, the company will run more efficiently.
This is a step towards becoming a more family oriented work environment for the United States. Other countries, particularly those in Europe, have already had well established health care infrastructures for working people...not to mention the gratuitous maternity leave, family care, etc. The money-driven capitalist ventures of many US firms neglected to realize for decades that by taking care of employees needs, the company will run more efficiently.
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