Health plan members in California reported the nation’s highest levels of satisfaction with their care, with Kaiser ranking the highest among a new survey’s respondents.
Michigan was tied with California in the nation’s highest satisfaction levels.
The study, done by J.D. Power, doesn’t reflect consumer feelings toward policies purchased under the Affordable Care Act, which first became available Jan. 1. The survey company said it plans to release a study focused on health plan members satisfaction with Obamacare policies in April.
J.D. Power’s “Member Health Plan Study” surveyed more than 34,000 members of 136 health plans across 18 regions of the U.S. The study was fielded in December and January.
More than a third of respondents said they’d received notice of rate increases or other policy changes in the past 12 months. The average monthly premium paid for 2013 was $285. A J.D. Power spokesman said rates had tended downward since the previous survey.
Power said 41 percent of health plan members reported they don’t have enough coverage for routine visits, serious illness or injury, health and wellness programs, routine diagnostics and drug coverage. Concerns over having enough coverage was the major cause of dissatisfaction found by surveyors. One of the major goals of the Affordable Care Act was to ensure sufficient coverage for consumers via the list of essential health benefits.
For 2013, 74 percent of health plan members maintained their preferred physician and 83 percent remained in their same hospital network. The ability to stay with current doctors remains one of the major causes of concern and dissatisfaction with health care policies bought via Obamacare insurance exchanges.
In California, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan ranked highest among health plan members for a seventh consecutive year, with a score of 756. No other plans in this region perform above the region average, leaving the state with only one provider on the list of “top three plans in overall membership satisfaction.” Kaiser is a participant in the Covered California private health insurance marketplace.
Read the J.D. Power health plan survey (PDF).
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