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Health plans not a hit with consumers

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 10, 2008

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UnitedHealth Group was the worst-scoring of any company in the latest University of Michigan American Customer Satisfaction Index, released Feb. 19.

On a scale of zero to 100, United scored a 65, while Aetna and WellPoint weren't far ahead at 66. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assn. ranked only slightly better, at 71, while the best score went to "all others" at 75.

Health insurance as a whole scored 71, narrowly missing the bottom slot in its category, which went to gasoline stations, at 70. The sectors measured for the fourth-quarter 2007 report were e-commerce, retail services, and finance and insurance.

ACSI researchers attributed the low satisfaction scores to higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/03/10/bibf0310.htm.

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