Health Insurance Industry Has Worst Customer Service – Survey Says

Health Insurance Industry ranked last of 18 industries surveyed in the recent 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings.

Kaiser Permanente was the top rated health plan, the only plan to receive an “okay” rating, but it is only ranked 87th overall. TriCare, Medicare, Aetna, United Healthcare, Humana, Empire BCBS, Blue Shield of CA, and CIGNA all received “poor” ratings. Four plans received “very poor” ratings and are ranked in the bottom seven across all 18 industries: Highmark BCBS, Health Net, Medicaid, and Anthem BCBS.

The sliver of good news can be found in the small two percentage-point improvement in insurers’ customer service ranking between the 2011 and 2012 surveys. “It’s troubling that only one healthcare plan can even achieve an (OK) rating; the entire industry needs a customer experience wake-up call,” said Bruce Temkin, managing partner for Temkin Group. “While it’s great to see some improvement, it’s not enough.”