Benefits January 21, 2002

Health Plans (Still) Get Good Grades

January 21, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - For the fourth year in a row, most workers covered by a health plan seem very satisfied with their program, according to a survey by The Harris Poll.
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Two thirds of the respondents gave their plans a grade of A or B, while about 75% would definitely or probably recommend their plans to friends who are healthy. A smaller 68% said they would recommend their current plan to friends or family members with a serious or chronic illness.

Among enrollees in employer-provided plans

– 26% awarded their plans an A grade
– 41% offered a grade of ‘B’
– 23% gave out a ‘C’ grade

Only 4% gave their plans an F, and a comparable 4% awarded a barely passing D.

Half-Empty?

Among enrollees in employer-provided plans, 26% said that they would not recommend their service to friends or family with a chronic illness ,and 22% would not recommend it to friends or family who are generally healthy, a figure notably higher than the 15% in last year’s poll.

About 26% of the respondents who were currently insured through employer- or union-provided plans gave the plans an A when asked to rate “all your experiences’ with the service.

Only 24% of Medicare beneficiaries gave their plans a C, D or F grade, in contrast to a higher 31% in both employer-provided plans and Medicaid programs.

The Harris Poll interviewed 927 insured adults in the US between December 14 and December 19 of last year.


 

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