Kaiser Health News recently reported the results of a survey in
which ReviveHealth, a hospital
public relations firm in Santa Barbara, Calif., asked hospitals to name the most problematic insurance companies.
NAHAM News wonders what problems or differences,
if any, among insurers you see from a
data capture and patient access perspective?
Some companies, such as Cigna, have praised the
survey. Spokesman Joe Mondy told Kaiser Health News that they “view data from this and other ‘report cards’
(athenahealth, AMA) as very useful in identifying opportunities to
improve and gaug[e] the impact of past improvement initiatives.”
Cigna was No. 1 in overall
favorability while Aetna scored best in the dealing with hospitals
category.
Other companies blasted the survey. Dr. Allan Korn of the Blue
Cross and Blue Shield Association, whose plans ranked worst in hospital payment rates for the second
year in a row, wanted to remind readers that “Revive is a PR firm that represents medical providers in
payment negotiations with insurers and often creates a contentious public and
media atmosphere around these talks…This survey is merely another tactic
aimed [at] boosting payments for Revive’s clients without regard to the impact
this has on millions of Americans who want and deserve affordable health
care.”
Overall, the survey reported that
WellPoint, a regional insurer, ranked last in overall favorability and in
the “dealing with hospitals” category.
“We believe the Revive survey is
inherently flawed and without merit,” said WellPoint spokeswoman Jill Becher.
“We have a long history of working with providers to improve the accessibility,
affordability and effectiveness of quality health care.”
Rising from the basement in previous
surveys was United Healthcare, the country’s biggest private health insurer. United scored sixth out of seven in the
dealing with hospitals category, and fifth out of seven in overall
favorability.
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