Healthy options Employees experience the rewards of good health in many ways by Susan D’Al exander and Victoria Wiedel Jeffrey Koellmer understands and appreciates the benefits of good health. After all, he’s responsible for overseeing Boeing fitness centers. But he and his wife also are raising three boys who are active in sports, and keeping them healthy is important, too, because medical costs can quickly add up. Koellmer, an Enterprise Services manager in Everett, Wash., was among thousands of Boeing employees who enrolled in the Preferred Partnership medical plan for 2015. The new plan has lowered their medical costs, according to Koellmer, 14 Boeing Frontiers a 23-year employee of the Shared Services Group. The benefits really hit home, he said, when two of his boys were sick with early-onset pneumonia and a sinus infection. “The doctor’s office said we no longer had to pay the $40 copay,” said Koellmer, referring to the copay required under his previous health care plan. “Then we went to the pharmacy we always go to and picked up two sets of antibiotics, and there was no copay. We paid nothing between the doctor’s office and the pharmacy.” First offered in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, Boeing plans to introduce the Preferred Partnership option in Charleston, S.C., and the St. Louis area for 2016, with other markets planned in the future. Eligible employees will be able to select the Preferred Partnership plan during this year’s annual enrollment in the fall. The Preferred Partnership plan provides lower paycheck contributions, no office-visit copayments for primary care physician visits, and generic prescription drugs covered at 100 percent. The Preferred Partnership’s “concierge service” model offers after-hours care availability and more personalized, coordinated care for complex medical conditions such as diabetes and heart conditions. Eligible employees in the Advantage+ health plan receive an increased company contribution to their Health Savings Account. “We know many employees want to take steps to get and stay healthy, and to take charge when it comes to managing their health care costs,” said Pam French, vice president of
Frontiers August 2015 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above