NBCH Honors Boeing and the New York Business Group on Health for Value-Based Purchasing Leadership

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at its annual conference, the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), a non-profit organization of employer-based health coalitions, presented The Boeing Company with the Employer Excellence in Value-Based Purchasing Award and the New York Business Group on Health (NYBGH) with the Value-Based Purchasing Membership Award. The recipients of this year's awards were recognized for their leadership and efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of the health care delivery system, control health care expenditures at the community level and improve the health of employees.

"As health care costs continue to rise, employers and coalitions are playing a critical role in reforming the system through community collaboration and the use of value-based purchasing strategies to improve the quality and value in care delivery," said Andrew Webber, president and CEO, NBCH. "We are pleased to highlight Boeing and NYBGH as industry innovators working to improve health and health care."

Boeing

A member of several NBCH coalitions including the Midwest Business Group on Health, the Pacific Business Group on Health, the Puget Sound Health Alliance and the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. The company received The Employer Excellence in Value-Based Purchasing Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems.

Boeing was recognized for its efforts to improve the quality and value of care through payment reform and benefit design programs. One of these initiatives is Boeing's Intensive Outpatient Care Program (IOCP), designed to improve quality of care and better manage costs for patients with complex medical conditions. Boeing incentivized physician groups via a monthly per patient fee to test a new, intensified chronic care model – the "ambulatory intensive caring unit" – and each physician group tailored the model to fit their environment. Patients were invited to enroll in the IOCP if they received primary care through one of the three physician groups participating in the program and had a severe chronic illness likely to benefit from intensified primary care.

Boeing also plays an active role in the Midwest Health Initiative, a group of health care stakeholders, including physicians, hospitals, employers, labor, insurers and consumers, to share information and drive continuous improvements in health and health care.

"Boeing enjoys a long tradition of aerospace leadership and innovation and we are pleased to be recognized for our innovative efforts to improve the health of our employees," said Terry Wolf, senior manager, Benefits Policy and Strategy, Boeing.

New York Business Group on Health

NBCH presented the New York Business Group on Health with its 2010 Value-Based Purchasing Membership Award sponsored by AstraZeneca. A non-profit coalition of 175 employers, unions, health plans, providers and other health care organizations operating in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, NYBGH's members include American Express Company, CBS Corporation and Unilever. NYBGH is focused on improving the quality and efficiency of health care, locally and nationally.

NYBGH was recognized for its work toward payment reform, public reporting and performance measurement. Key projects include: serving as a national leader for NBCH's eValue8, a survey and evaluation process used by health care purchasers to assess and manage the quality of their health plans; development of a performance reporting program for primary care physicians (which is now managed by the New York Quality Alliance); and rolling out The Leapfrog Group's evaluation and public reporting of hospital quality and safety in New York to allow customers and purchasers to make informed decisions when choosing hospitals.

"NYBGH is honored to be receiving this award," said Laurel Pickering, executive director, NYBGH. "We share the recognition with our members, both employers and health care organizations, who partner with us to improve health care quality and value, locally and nationally."

About the National Business Coalition on Health

NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of 53 purchaser-led business and health coalitions, representing over 7,000 employers and 25 million employees and their dependents across the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value-based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. For additional information visit: www.nbch.org.

SOURCE National Business Coalition on Health