November 08, 2009
What's Inside:
Triumph, health clinic reach agreement
The nation’s oldest free clinic has inked a deal with one of St. Joseph’s largest employers to care for its uninsured employees.
Triumph Foods is paying $59 for each clinic visit by a sick employee and to screen potential employees who may require medical treatment. The agreement aims to address a glut of uninsured Triumph employees that the Social Welfare Board says it’s seen since the pork processing plant opened in January 2006.
Nearly 2,500 people are employed by Triumph. It takes six months for hourly production employees to be eligible for health insurance.
Triumph Chief Administrative Officer Patt Lilly said the majority of employees take advantage of its employer-provided health insurance. However, it is the new employee who gets ill on the production floor during his or her six-month waiting period, or the prospective employee who may have a medical condition that may preclude him or her from employment, that Triumph will cover under the agreement.
“For them, we would need to receive a doctor’s explanation for a particular ailment or medication before we can hire them,” he said.
The Social Welfare Clinic became a hotspot among employees shortly after the Triumph plant opened. Employees quickly discovered it was an easy and free way to get medical treatment.
By fall 2006, 40 to 50 uninsured Triumph employees were visiting the clinic each month, some who had never seen a doctor, said Social Welfare Board Executive Director Linda Judah. Negotiations soon began between the welfare board and Triumph.
Initially, Ms. Judah asked Triumph for $10,000 per year to cover its unreimbursed health costs. But under the new agreement, which took effect on March 1, the free clinic may be reimbursed up to $14,000 by year’s end, if the current medical visits keep steady.
Last month, the clinic treated about 20 Triumph employees. Already this month, it has seen 17 Triumph employees.
Ms. Judah said the ailments they see most commonly deal with body adjustments necessary to endure repetitive tasks on the production floor. Blood pressure problems, diabetes, skin ailments and upper respiratory infections also have been seen.
Ms. Judah said the agreement benefits the St. Joseph community in the long run, especially against an infectious incident.
“These employees are getting their medical needs tended to, so if there’s an infectious type of situation, they can come here rather than not getting it treated and infecting everybody else around them,” Ms. Judah said.
At any time, either party may end the health agreement.
Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com
This story has 16 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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I realize that this $59.00 fee is mostly just a screening arrangement, but who pays the bill when a seriously life threatening disease is discovered and imediate treatment is required? Triumph doesn't. You and I pick up that tab.
Triumph employees are not the only people who take advantage of the free health care. Taxpayers pick up the expense for non-Triumph workers also, yet I do not hear anyone complaining about that expense. The welfare board is lucky that Triumph is willing to offset the costs of free social services.
I completly agree with wr49tm, the Welfare board IS very lucky, because they DON'T have to do it.
This is a classic move by the big business world in which I include all types of health care providers. Triumph pays a little to pacify a problem so it does not turn into a huge problem that draws bad attention and consequences. This gets uglier in our society of people who do not have health insurance being supported by the ones that do slow down the outrage for what is happening that will result in the inevitable and that is national healthcare.
Because like it or not a national healthcare system is the only way to guarantee that everyone who wants healthcare coverage has to pay for it and requires companies like Triumph to pay better wages or carry insurance for their employees.
No Triumph employees might not be the only ones who uses the clinic but they are the ones who are hiring illegal alliens to work at this plant and when there is a serious health problem us tax payers are going to pay the medical bills for these people. This plants management has been heard saying they would rather hire all people from the outside instead of hiring local people. They have went thru thousands of employees since they have opened and it is because they treat their employees like crap( for those of us who worked at Monfort, Monfort was a nice place to work vers Triumph. Triumph is bad for our community in many ways and will be glad when they go broke and leave. the jobs for the economy yeas if they were local people getting these jobs. Triumph just wants to make thmselfs look like saviors.
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WhoisJohnGalt May 14, 2009 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)Are you talking about Triumph or the Social Welfare Board, mexiprowler?
mexiprowler,
The mayor, chamber of Commerce and the city counsel sold St. Joseph out on that whole deal. Seaboard Farms DBA Triumph Foods leaves destruction in its wake. It will be no different here. When the gravy train is sucked dry the plant will close and Triumph Foods will be history. Then the real problems will begin. You know unemployment is bad now. Wait till they pack up the circus and disappear into the night. An overburdened free clinic is just the tip of the iceberg. Folks! We got trouble. Right here in River City.
I heard there is no taxes taken out of their checks, due to they do not live here? Does anyone know why? Supposedly, some take their checks to a local gas station and cash them.
For a fee of course.
Here's a good one. Mr. Buenz has listed my business as his address. First I received his union card (called and informed the union), today I received a jury duty request. Interesting?
I thought the free clinic at Patee Hall was for low income residents. How do employees at Triumph qualify as low income???
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mexiprowler May 14, 2009 at 1:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)The normal fee for any dental services is 8 not 75.00. If she was able to pay that amount she should not have been seen at the clinic.
mexi prowler, your information is incorrect. the pay schedule is based on the ability to pay. it is a sliding scale.
If it is based on slideing fee, how is triumph employees being seen. They make what 9-10 an hour maybe more. I lost my job (it closed) and my insurance for my family a year ago. My husband was the only one working and we have one daughter. We went to patee hall for the free clinic. I was told that because my husband made 7.50 an hour and I was getting the minimal unemployment we made to much for us to come to the clinic, mind you my husband is diabetic and they would not help him. Now they did say there was a grant available for me to have my mamaogram and female exam, but if there wsa something wrong I would need to come up with the money to be sent to a ob dr. So just how was triumph employees being seen down there when we could not.
It is their constitutional right to go to the free clinic, report their income as exempt, and receive free services.
That is also how you have nothing withheld from your pay. On the W-4 form you check the "Exempt" box and nothing is withheld from your paycheck. Of course if you file a tax return and plan on staying here for the rest of your life the IRS is going to eventually get you for paying them nothing.