Aetna And Health Insurance And California

New rankings make choosing health insurance easier

Our analysis of the NCQA rankings found that the five largest national insurers—Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and United Healthcare, plus the mostly state-based Blue Cross Blue Shield plans—account for about 75 percent of the 390 ranked private plans, but only 36 percent of the top 50.

Here are other highlights:

■ Biggest isn’t best. United is the nation’s largest health-insurance company, but none of its private plans rank among the top 100, and most occupy the bottom half.

■ Small can be good. For example, Capital Health Plan, a Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO in Tallahassee, Fla., that has just 113,300 enrollees, ranks third in the nation among private plans.

■ Kaiser Permanente makes the grade. For instance, its Medicare plans in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington topped the rankings.

■ New England plans excel. Eighteen of the 50 top-ranked private plans are in the six-state New England area. And Aetna and the “Blues” had New England plans that ranked in the top 100, while many of the same insurers’ plans in southern and western states ranked near the bottom.

You might find that the insurance plan you’re currently enrolled in—or interested in joining—isn’t among those we ranked. That’s because some plans don’t submit performance data to NCQA. For example, the 99 Medicaid HMOs ranked this year represent fewer than half the total number of HMOs serving Medicaid enrollees nationwide. In addition, some plans that do submit data choose not to make that information public. Still others submit data but not enough for valid statistical analysis.

People's universal health insurance plans strategies « Hosting Viktor

The health care reform law was enacted in 2006. It requires nearly every resident to obtain health insurance coverage. Through the law provides free health care for residents earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and partially subsidized health care for those earning up to 300% of the FPL, depending on an income-based sliding scale.

The law established an independent public authority, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, also known as the Health Connector, which offers the subsidized coverage and facilitates the selection and purchase of private insurance plans by individuals and small businesses.

Incentives for residents to obtain health insurance coverage include tax penalties for failing to obtain an insurance plan. In 2007, tax filers who failed to enroll in a health insurance plan that was deemed affordable for them lost the 9 personal exemption on their income tax. In 2008, penalties increase by monthly increments, and are based on half of the cost of a health insurance plan.

Once implemented, in other words, universal health insurance became overwhelmingly popular (the Mass. law was passed in 2006). That’s the Republicans worst nightmare; that one big reason they are fighting this so hard.

As the nation struggles with the urgent challenges of checking all Americans have access to quality, affordable care, health insurance plans are building ahead with proposal to progress health care quality through reporting and payment reforms that support value, encourage ongoing improvement, and advance high-quality health care.

To acquire an improved sense of the extent and multiplicity of health plan programs and proposals aiming quality improvement, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) surveyed a representative model of commercial and Medicare Advantage member health insurance plans on behalf of more than 95,000,000 covered lives. The survey data, collected in 2009, demonstrate health plan activities and programs that improve quality of care, patient safety, and reduce costs to the health care system.

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