The Company will extend until June 30, 2009, the Group Benefits Program agreed to
in the Collective Bargaining Agreement of September 29, 2002, between the
Company and the Union for eligible employees and medical benefits and dental
benefits for covered dependents of eligible employees as summarized in the
document entitled Attachment A effective July 1, 2006, or on such later date
when specifically stated therein..
11.2(a) Life Insurance
and Disability Benefits. The Company will pay
the full cost of the Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment,
Survivor Income and Weekly Disability Plans for eligible employees.
11.2(b) Medical
Benefits. The Company and the
11.2(b)(1) In regions where
employees may choose between Coordinated Care and/or Health Maintenance
Organization plans or the Traditional Medical Plan, the Company will pay the
full cost of the low-cost plan in the applicable region for eligible employees
and dependents. For those employees and
dependents whose coverage is with another plan, employees will contribute on a
pre-tax basis the difference between the cost of the low-cost plan and the plan
the employee chooses.
11.2(b)(2) In regions where
Coordinated Care and/or Health Maintenance Organization plans are not
available, the Company will pay the full cost of the Traditional Medical Plan.
11.2(b)(3) The employee is required
to contribute an additional $100 each month for medical coverage under the
Group Benefits Program to enroll a spouse or same-gender domestic partner who is
eligible for medical coverage under another employer-sponsored plan and waives
such coverage. This $100 contribution
will not be required for a spouse or same-gender domestic partner who waived
coverage under another employer-sponsored plan prior to eligibility for medical
coverage under the Group Benefits Program, provided he or she enrolls at the
other plan’s next enrollment period or, if earlier, at an enrollment date
allowed by the other plan.
11.2(c) Dental Benefits. The Company will pay the full cost of either
the Incentive Dental Plan or Prepaid Dental Plan.
For employees covered on or after July 1, 2003,
the Company will provide for the duration of this Agreement for eligible
retired employees and covered dependents of eligible retired employees the
medical benefits summarized in the document entitled Attachment B, effective
July 1, 2003, or on such later date when specifically stated therein and
subject to all of the terms and conditions contained in or referred to in such
Attachment B. The program summarized in
Attachment B shall be referred to as the Retiree Medical Plan.
Except as described in 11.4(b) and 11.4(c), the Company will share the
cost of medical coverage for current eligible retired employees, employees on
the active payroll, on layoff or on leave of absence on June 30, 2002 as
follows:
11.4(a) Effective July 1, 2003, Company and retired employee
contributions will be as follows:
For any Coordinated
Care/Health Maintenance Organization plan coverage, retired employees will
contribute $10 for a retired employee only, $20 for a retired employee and
spouse, $20 for a retired employee and child(ren), or
$30 for a retired employee and family.
For Traditional Medical Plan coverage, retired employees will contribute
$20 for a retired employee only, $40 for a retired employee and spouse, $40 for
a retired employee and child(ren), or $60 for a
retired employee and family. The Company
will pay the cost of each plan in excess of the amount contributed by retired
employees.
11.4(b) For employees who are hired on or after January 1, 1993, the
Company contributions are limited to three and one third percent of the cost of
the Coordinated Care/Health Maintenance Organization plan or Traditional
Medical Plan the retired employee chooses per year of service for the duration
of the Agreement. Retired employees pay
the difference (the cost of the plan minus the Company contributions). However, all covered retirees must make
contributions not less than the amount specified in Section 11.4(a).
11.4(c) The retired employee is required to contribute $100 a month to
enroll a spouse in the Retiree Medical Plan if the spouse is eligible for
coverage under another employer-sponsored plan as an active employee and waives
such coverage.
11.4(d) Company contributions will be made only for an eligible
retired employee who is receiving benefits from The Boeing Company Employee
Retirement Plan provided the employee meets the eligibility requirements of the
Retiree Medical Plan and either authorizes deduction of the balance of plan
rates, if any, from his or her retirement check or makes arrangements with the
Company to self-pay for coverage. Such
Company contribution will continue for an eligible retired employee or eligible
spouse reduced by retired employee contributions required under Sections
11.4(a) and 11.4(b) and the spouse contribution in Section 11.4(c), if any,
until such eligible person attains 65 years of age or is earlier eligible for
Medicare, and for a dependent child, until such dependent is no longer an
eligible dependent or earlier qualifies for Medicare.
The benefits summarized in the Group Benefits
Program and the Retiree Medical Plan shall be procured by the Company under
contracts and/or administrative agreements with insurance companies, health
care contractors or administrative agents which will be in the form customarily
written by such carriers and administrative agents, and the Group Benefits
Program and Retiree Medical Plan shall be subject to the terms and conditions
of such contracts and/or administrative agreements, consistent with the summary
in the Group Benefits Program or Retiree Medical Plan.
Such contracts and/or
administrative agreements will require the administrative agents to develop
various programs and procedures designed to contain costs based on those
portions of the Group Benefits Program and the Retiree Medical Plan which
contain the requirement that charges are covered only on the basis of medical
necessity. Such cost containment
programs or procedures may be utilized to determine the medical necessity of
the treatment itself, the appropriateness of the services provided,
the place of treatment or the duration of treatment. The administrative agents and the Company
will announce each such program or procedure before it is required or available
to the affected employees or retirees.
Any such cost containment program or procedure will not operate to
reduce or deny the benefit properly due under the Plans to any covered person
or to shift the costs covered under the Plans to the covered person.
During the term of this
Agreement, the Company shall not change the benefits or increase the deductibles
or copayments shown in Attachment A and Attachment B, except as required by
law, without approval of the Union, and in the event the Company makes such
change without the Union’s approval, such action shall be subject to the
provisions of Article 19 of this Agreement.
The failure of an insurance company, health care contractor or
administrative agent to provide for any of the benefits for which it has
contracted shall result in no liability to the Company, nor shall such failure
be considered a breach by the Company of the obligations which it has
undertaken by this Agreement. However,
in the event of any such failure, the Company shall immediately evaluate the
need to replace the services of such insurance company, health care contractor,
or administrative agent.
The Group Benefits Program and the Retiree
Medical Plan shall be administered by the insurance companies, health care
contractors or administrative agents with whom the Company enters into
contractual relationships for the purpose of providing and/or administering the
coverage contemplated by the Group Benefits Program or the Retiree Medical Plan
and, except as provided in Section 11.5 above, no question or issue arising
under the administration of such Group Benefits Program or the Retiree Medical
Plan or the contracts and/or administrative agreements identified therewith
shall be subject to the grievance procedure or arbitration provisions of
Article 19 of this Agreement. No new
medical or dental plans will be added or existing plans deleted without prior
consultation and notification of the
Copies of the policies, contracts, and
administrative agreements executed pursuant to this Article 11 shall be
furnished to the Union and the coverages and benefits indicated in the Group
Benefits Program or the Retiree Medical Plan, the rights of eligible employees
in respect of such coverages, and the settlement of all claims arising out of
such coverages shall be in accordance with the provisions, terms and rules set
forth in such contracts.
If during the term of this Agreement there is
mandated by federal or state government a program that affords to employees and/or
retirees covered by this Agreement similar benefits (such as but not limited to
medical benefits and dental benefits) to those that are afforded by this
Agreement, benefits afforded by this Agreement will be replaced by such federal
or state program. The Company will
comply with the provisions for the furnishing of such program to the extent
required by law. No question or issue
regarding the level of benefits under the state or federal program shall be
subject to the grievance procedure or arbitration provisions of Article 19 of
this Agreement.