History
“Let’s Start from the Beginning – History of Union Health Service, Inc”
- Union Health Service began as an idea developed by Olivia “Peg” Bautsch in whose memory the present UHS Polk St. Clinic has been named, and by Thomas J. Burke, president of the Chicago Janitors’ Union, Local 25. Their objective was to provide union members with a group practice, and direct service on a non-profit basis, with costs prepaid by negotiated Health and Welfare contributions from employers. In the early 1950s, There was no HMO law (or any other enabling Illinois law) to permit an organization to simultaneously assume insurance risk for medical coverage and to actually provide the covered medical services through its own staff of physicians and other health professionals.. Terms such as “Managed Care”, ”Premium Inflation” “Utilization Review” and other issues requiring so much focus today were not part of the mainstream vocabulary of that time. The value of building a defining relationship with “our” medical staff in “our” facilities to serve “our” members (as well as potential new members) was clearly recognized.
- The first step towards the formation of UHS was taken when Local 25, under the leadership of Mr. Burke, negotiated with the Owners and Building Managers to establish a Local 25 Health and Welfare Fund the fund to provide premiums for medical and hospital services and a permanent Medical Center. In support of legislative representatives – the VHSP was passed on June 27, 1951 during the administration of Governor Adlai Stevenson. UHS was then organized and received its first charter under the new act on Dec. 1 1952.
- The center opened at 111 N. Wabash av. on April 26, 1955. At that time, it was the first medical facility to provide pre-paid comprehensive care on a group practice basis with no deductibles and co-insurance. 1965 was a landmark year in UHS’s history. It moved its facility to the 51,000 square foot outpatient medical clinic on Polk St. in the Medical District, investing $1.5million in the construction of the facility.
- Other forces in health care gained importance during the 70s. High rates of medical inflation significantly led to passage of HMO acts in most states at that time. The IL Health Maintenance Organization Act was similar in many ways to the VHSP Act, but it also applied to for-profit companies and established regulatory oversight for quality assurance programs. Also In the late 1970s, UHS entered into a contract with the federal government to provide Medicare services to retired individuals. The program is popular today since it allows members to avoid the deductible and coinsurance cost for services received at UHS while still giving flexibility to the beneficiary to use any participating Medicare provider.
- Fast-forward to the decade of the 80s , UHS became part of a relatively new managed care industry. MCOs relied on capitation and other financial incentives to create relationships with PCPs. These doctors get most of their income from a traditional fee for service private practice. UHS, however,relied on SOUND RECRUITING and BUSINESS PRACTICES (often based on well-known professional contracts). The company hired physicians on a full-time salaried basis who share the UHS’ values of services to its enrolled members. By the mid-1980s, UHS also became one of the first physician out¬patient facilities in the metro Chicago area to install mammography and include it as part of the routine preventive services offered to women.
- By the 1990s, the effects of UHS’s approach were obvious. Most of the managed care industry was experiencing significant costs from membership turnover. UHS was enjoying the economies of high membership retention rate because of the stability of the union membership. The investment UHS made in preventive screening services were paying off. While headlines reflected a backlash to MCOs, UHS continuously experienced zero complaints filed with the IL Dept of Insurance (significantly the lowest complaint level in IL.)While surveys have shown double-digit premium increases for MCOs in the 1990s, UHS has averaged less than 3% annual premium increases in this decade.