Union Wellness Centers

Nine area union groups create a coalition to deliver high-quality primary care to their members.

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Industry

Labor Union

Member Count

40,000

Solution

Onsite Health Centers

The Challenge

Our country depends on skilled workers to safeguard its infrastructure, but they can only perform their trades while in good health. In 2019, Jim Coyne, Business Manager at Plumbers UA Local 130 in Chicago, began searching for a solution to connect members with affordable primary care while reducing healthcare costs.

Our Solution

Coyne partnered with Marathon Health and opened a dedicated wellness center for Local 310 members and their families. Within a few months, he began engaging other crafts and hosted open houses to demonstrate the capabilities of onsite health and direct access to primary care. “I did this open house and invited these other crafts. We had long conversations, and two years later, we formed a coalition,” he says.

Today, nine unions in the Chicagoland area and Northern Indiana make up the Union Wellness Centers coalition, which includes close to 40,000 members and eight wellness centers strategically placed close to where most of the members live. Members enjoy exclusive access to primary care visits, physical therapy, medications, wellness programming, lab draws, immunizations, and other services—all at no cost.

"I want my members and their families to have a good life, and to do that, you've got to be healthy. When you offer free primary healthcare with no copay or deductible, people are going to try it. I'm overwhelmed with joy at what we accomplished here."

Jim Coyne, Business Manager, Plumbers UA Local 130

Outcomes that Matter

56%

YoY increase in wellness center visits

62 %

YoY increase in physical therapy visits

99 %