Backfire at Boeing

Backfire at Boeing

Smerd J. Workforce Management (USA), 26 Feb 2007 Vol 86 No 4, Start page: 1, No. of pages: 6

Purpose – Describes Boeing’s attempt to improve health care available to a group of workers under its health plan by assessing the quality of doctors paid to deliver health care services and only allowing employees to use the best. Explains why it has provoked a backlash among the company’s employees, the union and doctors. Design/methodology/approach – Discusses the reasons why Boeing asked Regence Blue Shield, its largest claims administrator, to develop a system for rating the quality of the care provided by doctors. Quotes from senior Boeing managers, representatives of Regence,doctors who were taken off the list, union representatives and employees about the problems that the new health care scheme ran into, which have lead to its implementation of the scheme being delayed. Findings – Highlights Boeing’s and Regence’s belief that data used to rate the doctors and the methodology were not flawed and the decision by Boeing to continue to roll out similar schemes to other groups of employees. However, argues that the difficulties that Boeing has encountered with this indicate the difficulties of using data about doctor performance in health care plans. Originality/value – Suggests that Boeing’s experience indicates the risks that companies face when trying to improve health care.ISSN: 1092-8332Reference: 36AH174

Keywords: Health, Insurance, Benefits, Service quality, Risk management, United States of America