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SMART Local 55 members are experiencing the power of collective bargaining in new ways in the Tri-City area of Washington, where a new primary care clinic exclusively for union members and families has opened. Pacific Health Coalition — a member-governed health care group made up of 44 unions across Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada — launched its first Washington-based clinic in June, offering primary care services to union members and their families who are part of the coalition.

That includes the members and dependents of Local 55 covered under the Northwest Sheet Metal Workers Healthcare Trust health plan.

In a statement to Tri-Cities Business News, Kolby Hanson, Local 55 regional manager, explained that “there is a great need for quality primary care that is accessible to members in the Tri-City and Spokane area. ‘The new clinics emphasize same-day or next-day appointments where a comprehensive exam can be performed. Having an on-site pharmacy will also be a nice convenience for our members,’ Hanson said.”

The region has recently encountered a major shortage in primary care providers. Previous reporting by the Business News noted that wait times at some of the region’s major clinics were between three and six months.

Patients at the new Coalition Health Center, on the other hand, can get an appointment within 48 hours, with access to primary care, blood work and prescriptions. According to local union leaders, the center will hire additional staff as needed to make sure wait times stay low. (Along with Local 55, the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 598 and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 112 also currently have access to the clinic.) 

At a time when cuts to Medicaid and funding for rural hospitals — due to the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — look set to negatively affect SMART members and working families nationwide, the Coalition Health Center is especially impactful. Not only does the clinic fill the gap in terms of access to health care; because the PHC consists of so many union members across the American West, representing 250,000 people total, it has the bargaining power to negotiate the best prices for members, according to local union officers.

The clinic, operated by the company Marathon Health, has four exam rooms, a laboratory, office space, a waiting area and a behavioral health area, plus a pharmacy. For non-primary-care needs, the Pacific Health Coalition has contracts with providers in the area who can offer needed procedures via referral.

All told, the Coalition Health Center is a brick-and-mortar representation of what our union fights for every day.

“The clinic is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with early morning and evening appointments available to accommodate busy schedules,” Local 55 wrote to members.

“This is just one more way that the Northwest Sheet Metal Workers Healthcare Trust is working to keep our union families healthy, strong and protected.”

As the spending legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” made its way through the United States House and Senate in spring and summer of 2025, SMART had a constant presence in the offices of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. SMART’s Governmental Affairs staff met repeatedly with representatives and senators, explaining how provisions in the legislation that cut tax credits, infrastructure funding, clean energy funding, Medicaid funding and more would negatively impact SMART members’ work opportunities and health care coverage.

“Cutting the waste and fraud, nobody’s against that. But these cuts go way deeper than that,” said SMART General President Michael Coleman in a video message to members explaining the bill. “These cuts are actually going to have an impact on our plans and our members. We’re all for cutting waste in the federal government, but they’re going to have to end up cutting programs that are essential for regular, working people.”

Unfortunately, in a move that says a lot about how politics works in today’s day and age, representatives and senators moved forward with a bill that included those cuts.

While some of the worst elements of the bill — including the most extreme energy tax credit cuts and an AI provision that threatened SMART-TD bus operators — were removed due to the collective work of SMART members nationwide and the labor movement, Congress pushed through cuts to Medicaid that will cause working families to suffer and raise the costs of health care plans for SMART members and families, cuts to tax credits that will lead to canceled projects and lost work hours for sheet metal workers, and more. And on July 4, President Trump signed the bill into law.

“Members will lose work. Costs will go up. And that just doesn’t make sense,” Coleman said in a video on tax credits cut by the bill.

Across the construction sector, the bill threatens millions of jobs and work hours, which translates to billions of dollars in lost annual wages and benefits. Members may not feel the consequences immediately. But in the years to come, construction workers and their families, alongside working people everywhere, will lose out on important jobs.

“Simply put, it is the equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects,” said North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey in a statement.

The legislation signed by President Trump included a tax exemption on overtime earnings. However, despite advocacy and proposed fixes, the bill does not extend this benefit to employees covered by the Railway Labor Act — AKA, railroaders.

“Our members sacrifice holidays, family time and weekends to keep this country running. Excluding them from a policy aimed at easing the burden on working Americans is more than disheartening,” said SMART-TD National Legislative Director Jared Cassity. “But we’re not walking away from this. We’ll keep pushing until our voices are heard.”

The cuts to Medicaid are simply devastating across the board. They don’t take effect right away, but once they do, they will hurt blue-collar workers and their families.

“The biggest impact will be on families that are fighting to keep their healthcare. Right now, the CBO scores that 16 million people will lose their healthcare coverage, which inevitably is going to lead to preventable deaths in the future,” said Coleman in another video to members. “And for members who don’t think cuts to Medicaid are going to have an impact on them, I can tell you that history has proven that any cuts to Medicaid lead to an increase in the costs of the health plans that we fund and that we fight for every single day.”

SMART will continue to advocate for members and working families, at the federal level and in states and cities across the United States. But make no mistake: The bill signed into law in July will hurt workers for years to come.

Hurricane Florence has struck North and South Carolina and is causing destruction in the region. SMART TD and Your Track to Health want to remind members affected by Florence that resources are available to help recover from the storm.
The following health and wellness resources are available to those impacted by Hurricane Florence.
Behavioral health
An emotional support hotline is available, free of charge, regardless of behavioral health plan membership. It provides access to specially-trained mental health specialists.
United Behavioral Health/Optum: 1-866-342-6892 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Prescription drugs
If you don’t have your medication(s) with you, prescriptions are available to you at any retail pharmacy. Simply show your Express Scripts ID card, or if your ID card is unavailable, call the number below. For members with home delivery orders in impacted areas, UPS shipments will be held at the member’s local post office for pickup if delivery to the home is not possible.
Accredo and Express Scripts: 1-800-842-0070 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Vision
If you’ve lost, broken or damaged your eyewear, emergency (temporary) replacement glasses can be sent to you, at no cost, with overnight shipping (must call by 2:30 p.m. ET on weekdays for same-day processing). Or, if you prefer to order permanent replacement glasses or contacts, expedited shipping is available.
EyeMed: 1-866-652-0018 (toll free) Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m. ET; Sat 8 a.m.-11 p.m. ET; Sun 11 a.m.-11 p.m. ET
Medical care and more:
Telemedicine services are available to any resident of an evacuation zone, regardless of health plan membership. Individuals can request a call from a doctor, free of charge, to handle non-emergency medical problems via specific contact information below.
Teladoc: 1-855-756-8708 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or for more information visit https://www.teladoc.com/florence/
Free telephone access to registered nurses is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week regardless of health plan membership.
Railroad HEALTHLINK: 1-866-735-5685 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Help finding care, behavioral health support, and assistance with finding available shelters and government resources, and other services are available through Aetna’s Resources for Living, regardless of health plan membership to people in Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Aetna: 1-833-327-2386 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
For those who reside in areas where States of Emergency have been declared, waivers have been put in place for Medical Authorization Requirements, Claims Timely Filing, and Paying Out-of-Network Claims as In-Network.
Highmark/Blue Cross Blue Shield: 1-866-267-3320 (toll free) Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-8 p.m. ET
Free telephone access to registered nurses is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week regardless of health plan membership. Help finding health care services is available through the toll-free phone number, and in-network rates will be available even if members are not able to see an in-network provider.
UnitedHealthcare: 1-866-735-5685 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Information is available to monitor and prepare for the storm. Experts are available to help: locate in-network providers in a new area, find facilities that will be able to provide temporary assistance, transfer medical records and prescriptions, get a short supply of medications if prescriptions have been lost, coordinate care between insurance company and medical providers, answer benefit and treatment questions and help with elderly parents.
HealthAdvocate: 1-866-799-2690 (toll free) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Dental:
Members affected by the hurricane who need care or other assistance can access Aetna.
Aetna Dental: 1-877-238-6200 (toll free) Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET
For more information, visit Your Track to Health at www.ytth.com.

Railroad employees covered under National Railway Carriers/UTU Health and Welfare Plan or the Railroad Employees’ National Health and Welfare Plan were mailed a notification of the online open enrollment period that began Oct. 1, 2014, and ends Nov. 1, 2014. The information should be specific to the current enrollment for you and your eligible dependents.
The online enrollment capability provides the ability to view your personal information, add, delete and update dependent information, view enrollment materials, enroll in benefits for next year, and receive an immediate confirmation statement. There is no need to mail in a paper enrollment form. However, if you need assistance, have questions or require a paper enrollment kit, call Railroad Enrollment Services at (800) 753-2692.
The enrollment website can be found at https://www.yourtracktohealth.com (formerly known as the Railroad Information Depot).
You are encouraged to visit the online enrollment site and review all the information available. Use the log-in instructions at the end of this article to access and review your personal information and spend some time learning about the benefits and resources available on the site.
You will also be able to search medical provider networks.
It is required that covered dependent Social Security numbers (SSN) be provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Please supply the missing SSN on the Dependent Information screen.
If you are currently enrolled in the Health Flexible Spending Account, the election and yearly contribution will not rollover to the new plan year. You must enroll in your Health Flexible Spending Account every year.

  • Click “Login” located in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • If you have already registered, enter your username and password.
  • If you have not yet registered, select “New User?” at the bottom of the screen to complete your registration.

Once logged in, select the option to “Enroll Now for 2015,” located in the upper left corner of the screen.

Railroad employees covered under National Railway Carriers/UTU Health and Welfare Plan or the Railroad Employees’ National Health and Welfare Plan were mailed a notification of the online open enrollment period that began Oct. 1, 2014, and ends Nov. 1, 2014. The information should be specific to the current enrollment for you and your eligible dependents.yourtracktohealth

The online enrollment capability provides the ability to view your personal information, add, delete and update dependent information, view enrollment materials, enroll in benefits for next year, and receive an immediate confirmation statement. There is no need to mail in a paper enrollment form. However, if you need assistance, have questions or require a paper enrollment kit, call Railroad Enrollment Services at (800) 753-2692.

The enrollment website can be found at https://www.yourtracktohealth.com (formerly known as the Railroad Information Depot).

You are encouraged to visit the online enrollment site and review all the information available. Use the log-in instructions at the end of this article to access and review your personal information and spend some time learning about the benefits and resources available on the site.

You will also be able to search medical provider networks.

It is required that covered dependent Social Security numbers (SSN) be provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Please supply the missing SSN on the Dependent Information screen.

If you are currently enrolled in the Health Flexible Spending Account, the election and yearly contribution will not rollover to the new plan year. You must enroll in your Health Flexible Spending Account every year.

  • Click “Login” located in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • If you have already registered, enter your username and password.
  • If you have not yet registered, select “New User?” at the bottom of the screen to complete your registration.

Once logged in, select the option to “Enroll Now for 2015,” located in the upper left corner of the screen.

 

tracktohealth_webA new and improved site – www.yourtracktohealth.com – replaces the previous Railroad Information Depot (www.rrinfodepot.com).

Bookmark the new website address for easy future access: www.yourtracktohealth.com.

The new yourtracktohealth.com is your online gateway to information, tools and resources about your health and welfare benefits to help you:

  • Explore your benefits
  • Enroll in and manage your coverage
  • Improve your health
  • Plan your retirement

Be sure to check out the new video library, “Question of the Week,” and the featured monthly health topic when you’re on the site.

More enhancements are coming soon.

There will be several new features added to the site in the coming months that will include:

  • Secure sign-on: allows eligible employees and their dependents who are enrolled in the health and welfare benefits program to securely access and manage personal benefits information online.
  • An email registration and subscription center: allows eligible employees and their dependents to opt-in to receive important benefits, enrollment and health/wellness information, alerts and updates via email. The subscription center is where you can update and manage your email communications preferences.

Stay tuned for future enhancement announcements and benefits communications on www.yourtracktohealth.com.

(This site contains information for railroad employees and/or their eligible dependents covered in the national railroad medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, behavioral health and life insurance benefits plans. If you and/or your dependents are not covered under these plans, including Amtrak employees, you should continue to seek information about your health care benefits from your employer.)

UTU members with questions on how the Affordable Care Act will affect them and their families should visit the websites of their health care insurance carriers.

For UTU members covered under the national railroad medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits plans, links to your health insurance providers’ websites can be found at http://www.utu.org/ by clicking on the “Health Care” link at the top of the home page.

In addition to accessing the UTU health care web pages for information, also view the Railroad Information Depot, accessible at:

https://www.rrinfodepot.com/

Following is general information on the Affordable Care Act:

* Those with health care insurance will continue to be covered under those plans.

* Those with health care insurance no longer will pay out-of-pocket for certain preventive care services when they are rendered by a network provider. The purpose is to promote wellness and reduce the high cost of treating and managing disease. For a list of preventive service covered, use the following link:

www.healthcare.gov/law/about/provisions/services/lists.html

This provision could prove a significant cost saver for UTU members covered by the national railroad health care plan because copays will be eliminated for many preventive health care services.

“When we entered the most recent round of negotiations with the carriers, our strategy was to hold the monthly cost sharing premium under $200 — rather than allow it to escalate to $300 or more — in exchange for somewhat higher copays,” said UTU International President Mike Futhey. “The Affordable Care Act now eliminates many of those copays. Our winning strategy will prove very beneficial to our members, who now will save out-of-pocket for many health care services while still having one of the lowest cost-sharing premiums in the public and private sectors.”

Additionally:

* Employer plans will be required to provide uniform summaries of benefits and coverage to participants.

* The Medicare hospital insurance tax rate of 1.45 percent per paycheck remains unchanged for those earning less than $200,000 annually ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly). The tax rate will be raised only for those with higher incomes.

* The Affordable Care Act ensures your right to appeal health insurance plan decisions — to ask that your plan reconsider its decision to deny payment for a service or treatment.

* It also contains a new Patient’s Bill of Rights, which can be accessed at the following website:

www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2010/06/aca-new-patients-bill-of-rights.html
.
* Dependents will remain covered by their parents’ health care plans until age 26.

* Insurance companies no longer may deny health care due to pre-existing conditions or cancel coverage for people who become sick.

* No longer are there lifetime dollar limits on health care benefits.

* Retirees covered by Medicare already have saved $3.7 billion on prescription drugs in the Part D “donut hole” since the law was enacted, and will continue to save on prescriptions as the “donut hole” closes over the next eight years.

As more information becomes available on how the Affordable Care Act affects UTU members and their families, it will be reported at http://www.utu.org/ and in the UTU News.

Railroad employees and/or their eligible dependents covered under the national railroad medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits plans may now find information about those benefits on a single web page.

The Railroad Information Depot webpage address is www.rrinfodepot.com 

Note that this web site pertains only to the nationally negotiated railroad health and welfare plans. If you and/or your eligible dependents are not covered by those benefits plans – and this includes Amtrak employees – you should continue to seek information about your health care benefits from your employer.

Each of the benefits administrators for rail employee health care insurance negotiated under the national railroad medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits plans hosts a home page at the Railroad Information Depot. The providers include Aetna, Highmark, MetLife, Medco, vsp, and United Healthcare.

By logging on to www.rrinfodepot.com, rail employees will find a central point of access for information about health care benefits, regardless of which benefits administrator provides coverage.

Here are some of the categories that will be available at the new website:

* Information on completing a health risk assessment to help you stop smoking, lose weight or become a happier person.

* Tips on reducing risks of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases that are largely preventable.

* Alerts and important dates regarding annual open enrollment periods.

* Current topics of interest and news on specific health issues.

* On-line access to each of the summary plan descriptions.

* Information on medical care, mental health, substance abuse, disease management, wellness programs, pharmacy, dental care, life insurance, vision care, and sickness benefits – regardless of the health care benefits administrator.

* Links to network providers, helpful tools and educational materials, contact information, and the various forms necessary for filing for benefits.

* A dedicated retirement section providing information and links to assist you in transitioning into retirement.

* Railroad Enrollment Services information to ensure you understand who is eligible for coverage under your plan and the documentation required.

Once at the website, you will be able to navigate over a topic to read more about what it offers; and, if it’s what you are looking for, you will need only to click on the topic to find more in-depth information.

Again, the website is:

www.rrinfodepot.com

Some 38,000 UTU members covered under the national rail contract will see a $2 reduction in their monthly health care contribution effective July 1 and continuing through June 30, 2016.

Health care insurance savings, in part made possible by the 2011 ratified national rail agreement, permitted the UTU and other rail labor organizations to seek the monthly reduction in the member contribution.

The national rail contract, ratified overwhelmingly by members last summer, included a negotiated cap on member contributions, putting that cap at $200 monthly, while carriers pay more than $1,401 on behalf of each employee covered under the national rail contract. Without the negotiated cap on member contributions, the monthly cost to members for health care insurance could escalate to $355 by the end of the agreement period.

The carriers’ health care savings, expected to be realized as a result of the 2011 national rail contract, permitted the $200 cap to be reduced to $198 effective July 1, and that lower $198 monthly cap will continue in force through June 30, 2016.

That $198 cap, and its length of time in force, is significant, as federal workers, for example, already pay more than $430 monthly for their family health care plan, and that cost is expected to rise in future years as health care costs generally continue a march upward.

The 2011 national rail contract also caps the family deductible at $400 annually, and the annual out-of-pocket maximum at $2,000, compared with a $700 maximum family deductible for federal workers and a $5,000 annual out-of-pocket maximum for federal workers.

Many in the private sector face even higher health care costs, while more than 40 million Americans have no health care insurance.

 

The UTU’s ratified national rail contract – locking in for six years a $200 monthly health care insurance premium — is looking even more attractive following a Kaiser Family Foundation study showing health care costs and health care premiums are rocketing into space.

Nationally, the average monthly premium for family health care insurance through an employer reached $1,256 in 2011, according to the study– and even higher monthly premiums are forecast in the years ahead.

Although employers generally pay a significant portion of those premiums, the employee share for private sector and federal workers is anywhere from almost double to more than double what is paid by rail workers under the recently ratified UTU national rail contract.

It is expected that most private-sector and government employees will be paying considerably more in health care insurance premiums in the years ahead, while those covered by the UTU national rail contract pay not a penny more for coverage through mid-2016. Moreover, the UTU national rail contract includes improvements in a health care plan already considered one of the most comprehensive in America.

The Kaiser Family Foundation study found that health care insurance premiums have doubled over the past 10 years, outstripping, for most Americans, the growth in wages.