In-house clinics make inroads in workplace
Sheridan employer fights health costs with on-site physician
By Katie Merlie
katie.merlie@indystar.com
October 31, 2007
SHERIDAN, Ind. -- A Hamilton County employer is tackling soaring health-care costs by providing on-the-job care.
 Dr. Craig Nadelson checks Biddle Precision Components production control manager Thomas Barnes in the private care clinic at the firm's plant in Sheridan. - Joe Vitti / The Star |
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BIDDLE PRECISION COMPONENTS |
Located north of Noblesville in Hamilton County, Biddle is Sheridan's largest employer with 180 workers. The company makes components and hydraulic valve spools.
Leslie Condre, a vice president at Novia, said her company contracts with doctors and nurses who treat employees at the company-based free clinic. Novia provides the medical supplies and equipment for the clinic.
A company's startup costs can be up to $35,000, which includes equipment and possible construction costs, Condre said. Monthly charges depend on the company's size and what supplies the clinic uses during that month.
The idea is to cut health-care costs by keeping control of them, and to reduce employee time off visiting doctors. The self-insurance program pays for hospitalization costs if the employee needs in-patient care and the cost of seeing specialists.
Biddle employees pay premiums of $12.50 per week for a single-employee plan, and $35 per week for family coverage. Employees pay a co-payment for in-patient or specialist care.
Biddle began looking into the idea in August 2006, when human resource manager David Milbee attended a Society of Human Resource Management seminar.
"We put the idea on the table and talked about what we could do to reduce health costs and make our employees healthier," said Biddle president Brian Myers.
Novia's model is about eliminating overhead in a normal clinic, especially paperwork, because there are no claims, billings or collections.
"This model is really more of a primary and family care service, based in a clinic setting rather than a physician's office," Condre said.
Health-care clinics in the workplace are a growing trend, but a risky one for small companies, said Roslyn Stone, chief operating officer for Corporate Wellness Inc., based in New York. She was surprised to hear that a company the size of Biddle would venture into a workplace clinic.
"You would have to have a large number of employees for it to pay off," she says.
She thinks the clinics could work in companies that have 1,000 to 2,000 employees, but not for small ones.
"(Health clinics) appear to be a significant way to save health-care dollars and save money," said Stone, adding that she is skeptical that companies, especially small ones like Biddle, will save in the long run.
Biddle already had space for the clinic, so little construction was needed. The clinic opened July 31.
A doctor or physician assistant is on duty several hours, three days per week, and generic medication is free.
The clinic, Myers said, is available to all employees, whether they're on Biddle's insurance plan or not.
The clinic provides basic care, including drawing blood for tests, but the medical professionals aren't specialists -- X-rays, for example, must be done elsewhere.
In addition to Biddle, Novia manages Indiana clinics at Batesville Tool and Die, Elkhart County government offices, Concord Community Schools and the city of Mishawaka. Condre said two Evansville operations, Red Spot Paint and Varnish and the Vectren Call Center, are the latest to have Novia's clinics.
Myers called having the clinic a great experience. Employees who hadn't been to the doctor in years have visited it, he added.
Biddle employee Brad Meyer doesn't like to go to the doctor, but last week he used the free clinic."I think the clinic is wonderful. I just hate going to the doctor," said Meyer. "My wife encouraged me to go, and I was completely out of excuses."
Dr. Craig Nadelson, a Novia physician and the company's medical director, said employees' medical records are updated after each visit, then put online where only the employee and clinic can access them at any time.
Myers said he's unsure what Biddle's savings will be this year because the clinic started in July, but he is anxious to see what the company will save in 2008.
"This is such a great benefit for our employees now," he said. "We have a healthier and happier work force."
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Original Release. Reprint permission copyright 2007 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved.
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