Consumer More Generous This Year with Expressing Health Plan Satisfaction

By Clive Riddle, June 28, 2013

J.D. Power has just released their excellent annual Health Plan Study of Satisfaction.  I got a different major takeaway from the study than did the folk at J.D. Power, although I also agree with their conclusions. Their take is in the context of the impending health exchange environment: “With such alternative healthcare purchasing choices as public and private exchanges--or cutting coverage altogether--taking shape among employers, health plans risk losing group business unless they improve employer satisfaction.” 

The J.D. Power study “is based on responses from 5,857 employers, with quotas to assure an adequate distribution of small, medium and large companies. The study was fielded in April and May 2013. …The study, now in its fourth year, measures six key factors that affect employer satisfaction with health plans: employee plan service experience; account servicing; program offerings; benefit design; problem resolution; and cost. Health plans are ranked in two employer segments: fully insured employers (health plan assumes the risk of providing health coverage for insured events); and self-funded employers (employers bear the risk associated with offering health benefits).”

Richard Millard, J.D. Power’s senior director of the healthcare practice  tells us “health plans need to understand the importance of satisfaction in order to limit the erosion of their business from employer-sponsored coverage to alternative channels where employees have more choices. Those health plans that focus on closing the satisfaction gap across key performance factors are more likely to retain employer-sponsored group contracts."

J.D. Power notes that “nearly one-fifth (15%) of employers say they "definitely will not" or "probably will not" continue sponsoring coverage in five years. Among employers in both segments, there is a 90-point gap in overall satisfaction scores between employers that intend to offer coverage in the future and those that intend to discontinue coverage.”

They go on to point out that “in both the fully insured and self-funded segments, employer satisfaction with program offerings, such as preventive health programs, disease management or wellness initiatives, is a key area of differentiation between employers that intend to offer coverage in the future and those that intend to drop coverage.  In the program offerings factor, the gap in satisfaction scores between fully insured employers that intend to offer coverage in the future and those that intend to drop coverage is 104 points--705 among employers that intend to offer coverage, compared with 601 among those that intend to drop coverage. Among self-funded employers, the gap in satisfaction scores between those that intend to offer coverage in the future and those that intend to drop coverage is also 105 points--689 among employers that intend to offer coverage, compared with 584 among those that intend to drop coverage.”

All good point as 2014 hovers over health plans. But what I found interesting was that health plan satisfaction scores improved significantly almost across the board for plans, compared to their 2012 study. I compiled their 2012 results with the current results J.D Power made available:

Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Fully Insured Employer Segment	2013	2012
HCSC	741	697
Cigna	737	689
Kaiser	737	718
Aetna	724	670
Fully Insured Segment Average	709	675
WellPoint/Anthem	707	658
UnitedHealthcare	703	663
Humana	693	691
Self-Funded Employer Segment
Cigna	707	643
Self-Funded Segment Average	696	665
Aetna	694	682
WellPoint/Anthem	692	631
UnitedHealthcare	669	662

What is the cause of the rise in satisfaction? The 2011 overall rate full insured was 696, so the rate dropped in 2012, and rebounded even higher in 2013. What are the implications of this improvement in satisfaction as the health exchange landscape takes shape?

Here’s a graphic J.D. Power provided on fully insured satisfaction results: