USW Local 2-232

formerly PACE 7-232

Representing  employees at Briggs & Stratton Corp. and Strattec Security Corp. in Milwaukee, WI

Membership Meeting 

Sunday December 7, 2008

Frank Monreal's El Matador

9155 W. Bluemound Rd. Milwaukee 

9:30a.m.

   Members are urged to Attend this Meeting.

Medical clinic planned for Burleigh plant;

an added service, will not replace insurance plans

by Ross Winklbauer

    As reported in the June 5th News Brief, Briggs and Stratton is planning to open a medical clinic at the Burleigh Plant. Joe Chambers and I met with Jeff Mahloch, Craig Reynolds, Scott Shaver and Barb Ehlers from Briggs to learn about these plans.

    The following questions were addressed at this meeting.

Ques.: When will the clinic be open and how large will it be?

Ans.: The construction started in July on the 7,040 square foot clinic. It is expected to be open by January of 2003

Ques.: What will the staffing be for this clinic?

Ans.: One doctor who is a family practitioner, one physician's assistant, one registered nurse, one receptionist and a half time medical transcriptionist. In the future, based on demand and usage, the company is hoping to add a doctor of internal medicine.

Ques.: What type of service will be available at this clinic?

Ans.: It will be very basic and family care, no x-rays. Patients requiring more than primary care will be referred to the physicians in their health plan. This clinic is not intended for urgent care or emergency room type situations.

Ques.: Will employees have to use this clinic?

Ans.: No, you will still have your normal doctors and clinics that are provided in your health insurance plan. This will be available if you want to use it. This will not replace any insurance coverage. It is in addition to the insurance you now have.

Ques.: Who will be able to use the clinic?

Ans.: It will be open to all Briggs and Stratton employees. It will be available to dependents of employees who are covered by a Briggs and Stratton insurance plan. Retirees and their dependents that are covered by a Briggs and Stratton insurance plan may also use the clinic. However, no one that is covered by Medicare will be able to use this clinic.

Ques.: What will it cost to use this clinic?

Ans.: The cost will be $5.00 per visit for everyone, regardless of what insurance plan you have.

Ques.: What hours are you planning for the clinic?

Ans.: It is anticipated that the clinic will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Ques.: Will people need an appointment to use the clinic?

Ans.: Appointments are preferred, but there may be some situations where employees can get in without appointments.

Ques.: Who will be running the clinic?

Ans.: Quad Med, the medical services division of Quad Graphics Inc. will be staffing and running the clinic.

Ques.: Will Briggs and Stratton have access to our medical records?

Ans.: Records will be retained and controlled by Quad Med, not Briggs and Stratton.

Ques.: What other types of services will the clinic offer?

Ans.: There will be Rehab Therapy area and a fitness center with a wide variety of exercise equipment available. There will also be men's and women's locker rooms with showers.

Ques.: What will it cost to use the fitness center and what hours will it be available?

Ans.: The exact hours are not set yet. It is expected to have longer hours than the medical center. The fees are also still under discussion. The current plan is to have some type of a longer-term membership, possibly 6 months or a year. This is both to make it possible to plan staffing and to require some commitment from the people that use the fitness center. The staffing for the fitness center has also not yet been determined.

    As stated in the July 15, 2002, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Briggs hopes to save $550,000 to $650,000 a year after the clinic has been in operation for a year and a half. Jeff Mahloch explained that they are trying to reduce health care cost and not just shift the cost to the employees. This may help in slowing the trend in higher health care cost.

    Craig Reynolds said that by reducing the number of visits to insurance plan providers (like unnecessary visits to the ER), our health insurance cost should be lower.