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Rising medical costs, fewer patients at center among reasons for move
Published on Thursday, Oct 02, 2008
Citing rising costs and fewer patients, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is closing the onsite medical center at its corporate headquarters in Akron at the end of the year.
The Goodyear Family Medical Center had been providing primary-care services to employees and retirees at the site on Goodyear Boulevard since 1989. Workers and retirees pay lower co-payments by using the practice.
But the company has removed liabilities for United Steelworkers retiree health-care benefits from its balance sheet by fully funding a $1 billion Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary trust, or VEBA, that will pay for retirees' health care.
Once the VEBA takes effect, accounting rules prohibit covered retirees from using the onsite clinic, because the company can no longer contribute toward their health care, spokesman Keith Price said.
Goodyear would not say how many employees and retirees use the medical practice and pharmacy, which is operated by Take Care Health Systems.
In a letter to employees and retirees, Goodyear indicated that USW retirees ''make up a significant portion'' of patients who use the onsite medical practice and pharmacy.
''When you look at the active employees who use that as their doctor's office or their pharmacy, the volume of business from actives isn't enough to make it viable for the operation to continue,'' Price said.
Until the end of the year, ''Goodyear plans to explore external options that could possibly retain the medical center's services,'' Thomas Broderick, the company's director of compensation and benefits, said in a recent letter to employees and retirees.
Take Care is continuing to operate an onsite clinic at another Goodyear facility in Alabama.
Citing rising costs and fewer patients, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is closing the onsite medical center at its corporate headquarters in Akron at the end of the year.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 10:23 AM, 10/02/2008
They should sell it to a Doctor or group of doctors that need a nice facility. It would come with a LOT of CLIENTS. If they make sure they take the different insurances that Goodyear supplies the people at the HQ.
Then it would be a win win deal. For a group of doctors and for GY.
Since they could also have a Pharmacy IN the building. They could make money on the patients.
Plus they would make extra. Since they wouldn't have to go to a different drug store to get their prescriptions.
It could all be in house.
Posted 02:02 PM, 10/02/2008
I could care less if they close. I had nothing but bad experiences with the doctors there and the one drug I take, they refused to carry. The people that work in the pharmacy are pretty nice for the most part, but there are a couple of stinkers in there. They are slooooooooow, and blame it on the overload of business. So if it is so busy, and making so much money, why are they closing it???? Mail order is the way to go.
Akron, OH
Posted 03:41 PM, 10/02/2008
Maybe the clinic should let the public use the facility too to drum up more business. Goodyear has a lot of contractors on site that would use the facility if it were an option.
Posted 05:19 PM, 10/02/2008
It is
