Hospital and health system leaders overwhelmingly have selected UnitedHealthcare as the "worst" overall payer, according to ReviveHealth's eighth annual National Payor Survey.
UnitedHealthcare unseats WellPoint, which had been voted the least-favorable health insurer for the past two years.
ReviveHealth fielded responses from 203 hospital and health system executives about their feelings toward several health insurers. Of the 203 respondents, more than 25 percent were CEOs, CFOs, COOs or other top executives. Directors of managed care represented more than a third of respondents, and about 20 percent were vice presidents of managed care. More than 70 percent of hospitals represented in the survey had contracts with UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana or Coventry.
Here are seven of the major findings from ReviveHealth's latest payer survey.
1. Best and worst overall payers. About 42 percent of hospital leaders said UnitedHealthcare was the worst at dealing with hospitals. The next closest was Humana at 16 percent. The best overall payer was Blue Cross Blue Shield, with 37 percent. The two next closest were Aetna and Cigna, with 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively, saying they were the best to work with.
2. Most trustworthy payers. ReviveHealth built a composite payer trust index to see how hospitals trust the payers they deal with the most. Overall, trust between hospitals and payers was considerably low, as narrow networks, tiering and changing contract terms have strained negotiations. Cigna was considered to be the most trustworthy payer, followed by the Blues, Coventry and Aetna. UnitedHealthcare scored the worst in this category as well.
3. Paying hospital claims promptly. Of the eight health insurers studied, hospital leaders said Blue Cross Blue Shield was by far the best at paying their organizations quickly. Forty-nine percent of respondents rated the Blues as the best in this category. Aetna was the next closest at 14 percent. UnitedHealthcare was ranked as the worst for paying hospital claims promptly (31 percent), just ahead of Humana (19 percent).
4. Contract negotiations. In terms of the worst reputation for honesty in contract negotiations, UnitedHealthcare again took the prize. Almost half of hospital leaders said the payer was at the bottom for being candid in talks. Blue Cross Blue Shield was ranked as the most honest payer at 37 percent.
5. Hospital rates. Although the Blues have garnered a high reputation for prompt payments and honestly, the health insurer was ranked as the worst among hospital executives for having the lowest rates for inpatient and outpatient care. Aetna was said to have the best rates for inpatient and outpatient care.
6. Physician rates. Blue Cross Blue Shield was ranked as the best and worst for physician payment rates. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said the Blues had the lowest physician rates, while 26 percent argued it had the highest rates. Aetna and Cigna were both generally considered to have good physician rates.
7. New initiatives. Commercial payers have started to partner more with hospitals on new initiatives, like accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes. About 37 percent of hospital executives said Blue Cross Blue Shield was the best for these projects. UnitedHealthcare ranked as the worst.
In response to the survey, UnitedHealthcare spokeswoman Cheryl Randolph released the following statement: "UnitedHealthcare contracts with 6,000 hospitals and more than 800,000 physicians and care professionals across the country. This very selective (only 203 hospital and health system executives were interviewed for 2014), non-scientific, web-based survey misrepresents the positive relationships that UnitedHealthcare has with most hospitals. Productive, collaborative relationships between hospitals and payers are important if we are going to make progress together to improve our nation's healthcare system, and UnitedHealthcare has taken a number of steps to improve how it works with healthcare providers."
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