Health plans have lowest customer service ratings

Health plans have the lowest customer service rating of more than 200 companies, according to a new research report published by Temkin Group.

The group rates customers’ experiences at 206 large companies across 18 industries. It’s the second year of the study.

The research is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers and includes 13 health plans. Kaiser Permanente was the highest rank insurance company, and the only one to receive an “okay” rating. However, it ranked 87th in the overall ratings. TriCare, Medicare, Aetna, United Healthcare, Humana, Empire BCBS, Blue Shield of California and Cigna all received “poor” ratings, while four plans received very poor ratings: Highmark BCBS, Health Net, Medicaid and Anthem BCBS.

Health plans represented the lowest rated industry and the only one of three industries to receive an average rating of poor. However, the health plans experienced a modest improvement from the 2011 report.

“It’s troubling that only one health plan can even achieve an okay rating; the entire industry needs a customer experience wake-up call,” said Bruce Temkin, author of the report and managing partner of Temkin Group. “While it’s great to see some improvement; it’s not enough.”

The Temkin Experience Ratings evaluates three dimensions of customer service: Does the company meet consumers’ needs? How easy is it for consumers to do what they are trying to do? How do consumers feel about their interactions with companies?

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