Analysis: UAW provides direct primary care to manage healthcare costs

• A UAW local in Oklahoma is pursuing a direct primary care strategy for its members.
• The Modern Healthcare article says UAW’s strategy grew out of a need to reduce healthcare costs to prevent jobs from being offshored.
• Partnering with unions presents an opportunity for health systems that can deliver advanced primary care to maintain and increase market share.

Modern Healthcare is reporting that a UAW local in Oklahoma is pursuing a direct primary care strategy for its members.

The article says UAW’s strategy grew out of a need to reduce healthcare costs to prevent jobs from being offshored to a country with lower healthcare, and therefore labor, costs. The UAW branch in Tulsa represents approximately 1,300 employees of an aerospace parts manufacturer has launched three clinics for its members.

The clinics, which offer expanded access through same-day appointments and 24-hour-a-day telephone visits, are funded by Per Member Per Month (PMPM) payments.

Employees can receive primary care and most common medications without cost sharing. Certain surgeries recommended by clinic physicians are also available without cost sharing if employees use a preferred provider.

The provider was chosen based on its ability to achieve high-quality outcomes in a cost-efficient manner.

Takeaway

Unions have been in the vanguard of developing direct relationships with providers to deliver lower-cost, high-quality healthcare to their members.

The benefits for unions: I would anticipate this to continue as more unions explore the option to:

• Reduce spending on healthcare.
• Increase cash wages.
• Prevent further offshoring of union jobs.

The benefits for providers: Partnering with unions presents an opportunity for health systems that can deliver advanced primary care to maintain and increase market share. Unions present a unique partnership opportunity because:

1. It may be easier to negotiate innovative value-based benefit designs with them, which increases the likelihood of success under value-based payment models by limiting leakage and reducing the utilization of low-value services.
2. They are in a position and more likely to engage and educate their members on the plan’s benefit design relative to other types of group purchasers. This increases the likelihood union members will readily accept the plan (and narrower provider network).