Managed Care - September 2008 - (Page 41)

Patient satisfaction remains an important characteristic of a health plan, particularly at open enrollment time. WilsonRx’s annual survey tells the tale. And the Winner Is …Tricare. Tricare, the health plan run by the U.S. Department of Defense, is the best health care insurer in the nation, followed closely by Kaiser Permanente, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, AARP, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, according to customers in a nationwide survey. “Tricare’s government provided plans have the highest satisfaction,” says Jim Wilson, RPh, MBA, president of Wilson Health Information. “It might be because of the fact that members have minimal copays and freedom to choose how they receive their health care and prescriptions.” 35,000 responses In January and February, Wilson Health Information sent eight-page surveys to more than 70,000 households and received about 35,000 responses to questions regarding health care utilization, delivery, and patient satisfaction. Member “satisfaction” and Overall satisfaction with health plan By Health Insurer Highly satisfied Tricare/military Kaiser Permanente AARP Medicare Medicaid BCBS of Michigan CareFirst BCBS PacifiCare/Secure Horizons Humana Medicare and Part D Other health plan Anthem Highmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield Assoc. WellPoint UnitedHealthcare — Net* BCBS of Illinois Coventry Aetna Cigna Health Care Services Corp. UnitedHealthcare 38% 35% 33% 33% 33% 32% 31% 30% 30% 28% 28% 28% 27% 27% 26% 25% 24% 24% 24% 23% 58% 59% 60% 61% 61% 62% 59% 61% 65% 63% 61% 62% 67% 66% 65% 63% 67% 63% 9% 9% 7% 6% 9% 11% 7% 12% 47% 58% 61% Satisfied 61% 48% Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied 36% 3% 4% 4% 4% 7% 7% 7% 6% 7% 6% 9% 9% 6% 8% “importance” ratings are measured on a scale of 1 (highly dissatisfied) to 4 (highly satisfied) and very important to not important at all. “We ask: ‘How satisfied are you with your health plan overall?’” says Wilson. “People who are enrolled in Tricare report the highest overall satisfaction scores compared to all other health insurance carriers.” Wilson Health Information, which bills itself as a “health care consumer insights firm” and MANAGED CARE are collaborating to publish key findings from the all new WilsonRx“2008 Health Insurance Satisfaction Report.” “Our survey closely follows a structured interview,” says Wilson, describing the questionnaire. “We ask consumers to tell us the name of his or her insurance carrier, plan sponsor, and what kind of plan it is. For example, a member may say he is covered by a PPO. He may also report that his carrier * UnitedHealthcare - Net means companies owned by the insurer but not called UnitedHealthcare. SEPTEMBER 2008 / MANAGED CARE 41

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managed Care - September 2008

Managed Care - September 2008 Editor’s Memo Contents Legislation & Regulation News and Commentary Medication Management Compensation Monitor Archimedes Lends Hippocrates a Hand Some Other Predictive Modeling Programs Messing With Medicare Advantage The Trouble With MAC MedPAC’s Suggestions Sound Familiar The Leader in Patient Satisfaction Formulary Files Plan Watch Tomorrow’s Medicine Ad Index Outlook

Managed Care - September 2008

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