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National HMO survey gives nod to non-profit plans;
both Texas plans rated fair poorly
AUSTIN, TX -- Consumer Reports released today a customer satisfaction survey of 54 of the largest HMOs in the country to be featured in the magazine's August issue, during a reporter's breakfast at the National Press Club in Washington. Generally, readers gave the best scores to non-profit plans with years of managed care experience and the lowest scores to for-profit HMOs that are part of large hospital or insurance company chains.
The two Texas HMOs featured in the survey were ranked in the bottom half of all plans in terms of customer satisfaction by 19,000 readers surveyed between May 1997 and April 1998. PCA Health Plans of Texas (since acquired by Humana) had the 10th worst reader score - with 67% overall satisfaction. NYLCare Health Plans of the Southwest (acquired by Aetna U.S. Healthcare), received a 69% reader satisfaction score. The frequent users of health care - those in poor or fair health - were generally the least satisfied.
Two issues of particular relevance to Texas - plan mergers and HMO report cards - receive special attention in the article. According to the magazine, the recent rash of mergers seen in the Dallas-Forth Worth area and other parts of the state and country could result in larger medical databases that allow doctors to better track patients' medical care. But they could also lead to services being eliminated and certain types of care becoming harder to obtain as HMOs get more market share and crowd out competitors.
The magazine is generally critical of HMO report cards currently available to the public, questioning their usefulness and criticizing their complexity. Texas, however, is ahead of most of the country in that it requires all HMOs to submit performance measures to the state. The information is compiled annually by two state agencies - the Office of Public Insurance Counsel and the Texas Health Care Information Council. The next report cards will be available in the fall (www.thcic.state.tx.us and www.opic.state.tx.us )
"The consumer report cards available today in various states beg for improvement," said Lisa McGiffert of Consumers Union's Southwest Regional Office. "In order to effectively help consumers shop among HMOs, report cards must feature more information on quality of care and cost."
For more information on the Consumer Reports story, please see the attached release or visit www.consumerreports.org. For interviews with the author of the piece and others working on the survey, contact Lauren Temmler at (914) 378-2432. For local interviews about Texas HMOs and health plans, call Lisa McGiffert at (512) 477-4431.
For more information, please contact Lisa McGiffert or Rafael Ayuso at (512) 477-4431 or at ayusra@consumer.org.
