J.D. Power Reports: Health Plans Risk Losing Employer-Sponsored Group Business Unless Satisfaction Improves

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 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, according to the J.D. Power 2013 Employer Health Plan Study^SM released today.

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).

Among fully insured employers, satisfaction averages[1] 709 (on a 1,000-point scale); among self-funded employers, satisfaction averages 696. Satisfaction across all factors among employers that do not intend to offer coverage five years from now is at least 76-points lower than employers who intend to offer coverage.

"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," said Richard Millard, senior director of the healthcare practice at J.D. Power. "Those health plans that focus on closing the satisfaction gap across key performance factors are more likely to retain employer-sponsored group contracts."

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.

Cost is another important driver of satisfaction. Cost satisfaction among employers that indicate they intend to continue sponsoring coverage in the future is 106 points higher than among those that intend to drop coverage (696 vs. 590, respectively). Satisfaction with cost is improving as more consumer driven high-deductible plans are offered to employees, which 82 percent of employers indicate are controlling costs.

"One way that health plans may improve employer satisfaction is by demonstrating they are making an impact on the health behavior of employees," said Millard. "How well health plans are able to do this may make a difference in determining whether an employer chooses to continue offering coverage or not."

Plan Satisfaction
Among fully insured employers, HCSC ranks highest with a score of 741, while Cigna ranks highest among self-funded employers with a score of 707. Both health plans perform particularly well in benefits design, problem resolution and account servicing.

The 2013 Employer Health Plan 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.

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

About J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a global marketing information services company providing performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions.  The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power is a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial.

About McGraw Hill Financial
McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), a financial intelligence company, is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. Iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mhfi.com.

J.D. Power Media Relations Contacts
Jeff Perlman; Brandware Public Relations; Woodland Hills, Calif.; 818-598-1115; [email protected]
John Tews; J.D. Power; Troy, Mich.; 248-680-6218; [email protected]

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power. www.jdpower.com

Follow us on Twitter @jdpower.

[1] Note on year-over-year performance: A shift in the proportion of respondents identified through different sample sources between 2012 and 2013 affected year-over-year trended data.  To adjust for this impact, J.D. Power bridged the historical data to make it comparable to the 2013 data. This adjustment makes it possible to show meaningful year-over-year trended results.

SOURCE J.D. Power

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