Kaiser Permanente and Humana Earn Top Customer Experience Rankings Among Mediocre Health Plans, According to Temkin Group

WABAN, Mass., March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente and Humana deliver the best customer experience among a poor scoring group of health plans, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Kaiser Permanente earned the top spot with a 68% rating, positioning the company in 109^th place overall out of 268 organizations across 19 industries. Humana, meanwhile, earned a rating of 63% and placed 160^th overall. While Kaiser Permanente consistently ranks near the top of the list—even taking first place in 2012—this year, Humana ascended from the middle of the pack to the top, improving its rating by an astonishing 12 percentage points.

At the other end of the spectrum, Coventry Health Care (BCBS) plummeted down the ranks after declining 18 percentage points from 2013, leaving it in last place across all 268 companies in the ratings with a score of 41%. Empire (BCBS), Highmark (BCBS), and Medicaid joined Coventry as the lowest-rated companies across any industry.

"Consumers give pretty bad ratings to most health plans, as this entire industry needs a customer experience makeover," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional findings from the health plan industry:

• The ratings of all health plans in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Kaiser Permanente (68%), Humana (63%), Medicare (62%), TriCare (62%), United Healthcare (59%), Blue Shield of California (58%), Aetna (57%), Health Net (55%), CIGNA (54%), Anthem (BCBS) (53%), CareFirst (BCBS) (48%), Medicaid (45%), Highmark (BCBS) (44%), Empire (BCBS) (42%), and Coventry Health Care (41%).
• Humana (+12 points), Blue Shield of California (+7 points), and United Healthcare (+5 points) improved the most between 2013 and 2014.
• Coventry Healthcare (BCBS) (-18 points), TriCare (-9 points), Empire (BCBS) (-7 points), and Highmark (BCBS) (-6 points) declined the most since 2013.
• Overall, the health plan industry averaged a 56% rating in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings and tied for 17^th place out of 19 industries.

Now in its fourth year of publication, the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings examines the quality of the customer experience delivered by 268 organizations across 19 industries: airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, software firms, TV service providers, and wireless carriers.

To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked consumers to evaluate their experiences with a company across three dimensions: functional (can you do what you want to do?), accessible (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotional (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce a company's Temkin Experience Rating.

In these ratings, a score of 70% or above is considered "good," and a score of 80% or above is considered "excellent."

The 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, along with other ratings, can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

The free report "2014 Temkin Experience Ratings" is available for download at the Customer Experience Matters^® blog (ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com) and at the Temkin Group website, www.TemkinGroup.com.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys, and Temkin Group accelerates their results by combining customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of organizational dynamics. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email.

*Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.

Read more news from Temkin Group.

SOURCE Temkin Group

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