Health plan participants feel like they’re treated terribly by their insurance companies. The biggest offenders?
- Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
- Health Net
- Medicaid, and
- Anthem (BCBS).
Those companies all received a “very poor” customer experience rating in a new Temkin Group report, 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings.
Based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers, the Temkin Group, a research and consulting firm, rated 206 large companies across 18 industries by how well they treat customers.
Temkin said in the report’s executive summary, “health plans dominated the bottom of the ratings.”
“Health plans” was the lowest rated industry group and only one of three to receive an average rating of “poor” (the others were “TV service providers” and “Internet service providers”).
The report rated 13 health plans. Here’s where each fell on the list of 206 companies:
- Kaiser Permanente — ranked 67th
- TriCare — 134
- Medicare — 163
- United Healthcare — tied for 171
- Aetna — tied for 171
- Humana — 178
- Empire (BCBS) — 193
- Blue Shield of California — 198
- CIGNA — 198
- Anthem (BCBS) — 200
- Medicaid — 201
- Health Net — 202
- Highmark (BCBS) — 204
Kaiser Permanente was the only health plan provider to receive an “okay” rating.
But on the bright side, insurance providers’ customer experiences appear to be on the upswing. When compared to last year’s ratings, “health plans” was the most-improved industry group.
The Temkin Experience Ratings are based on consumers’ answers to three questions:
- How well do experiences meet customers’ needs?
- How easy is it for customers to do what they want to do?
- How do customers feel about the experiences?
Topping Temkin’s 2012 ratings: Sam’s Club.
The company rated dead last: Earthlink.
