Boeing grows health plan, adds health networks in Charleston, St. Louis

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Aviation giant Boeing has added Roper St. Francis Health Alliance in Charleston, South Carolina and Mercy in St. Louis to its health plan, according to a Boeing spokesman, as the company continues to grow its in-house benefits network.

Earlier this year, Boeing entered into direct contracts with Providence-Swedish Health Alliance and UW Medicine in Washington for its Puget Sound employees.

Starting in 2016, Boeing employees have the option of staying with a traditional plan or choose Boeing's preferred partnership plan, which gives them access to networks through Roper St. Francis Health Alliance or the Mercy Health Alliance.

Boeing brings patient volume to the partnership -- an estimated 13,000 in St. Louis and 6,000 in Charleston -- while the health systems take on greater risk as they become more accountable for cost and quality of care.

Boeing remains among the few employers that negotiate directly with providers for a health plan that saves money for the company and its employees.

[Also: How two ACOs and Boeing are testing value-based care]

In Puget Sound, administrator Blue Cross of Illinois continues to price and pay the claims, but the providers set the goals for the employees' medical costs, Boeing spokesman Joseph Tedino said at the time.

The provider either foots the bill or reaps the savings if the cost goes higher or lower.

"Our promise to Boeing is to deliver value. We're on the hook for the promise," Joe Gifford, chief executive for Providence-Swedish Health Alliance, said earlier this year.

Benchmarks are tied to costs, including hospital readmissions and the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Employees in Puget Sound rate the new plan highly, according to Tedino.

Employees who participated in focus groups this summer gave the plan a satisfaction rating of 85 percent and nearly all said they would stay with the plan in 2016, he said.

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In Puget Sound, approximately 27,000 employees and their dependents, along with 3,000 retirees, were eligible to sign up.

For employees in Charleston and St. Louis, the benefits save employees from $350 per year to well over $1,000 per year depending on family size and other factors. Employees who select the preferred partnership also have no copayment for office visits to a primary care physician and will have no copayment for generic drugs.

Other benefits include: Same-day or next-day appointments for urgent primary care needs or appointments within three days for urgent specialty care needs; electronic messaging with their care provider; a Boeing-dedicated customer service center that patients can reach by phone, email or online; a Boeing dedicated nurse line offering 24-7 consultations; online and mobile access for scheduling primary care appointments and reviewing test results; and proactive provider support for preventive care and chronic disease management. 

Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN