GM has a different idea. The automaker helps produce a report card on managed-care plans and then steers salaried workers to the best performers. We want people to move into high-quality programs. The strategy has worked. Wickham says the proactive approach will have long-term benefits.
Most companies seem reluctant to exert such influence.
The more common approach is to offer more choices at a range of prices. Lockheed Martin, for example, added a seventh health plan for next year. The POS plan requires a primary-care physician but allows members to go outside the doctor network. The variety allows workers to make the call. An employee who has a dependent facing a liver transplant would select a more expensive PPO with a network that includes the doctors they want to use, Kaiser says.