UnitedHealth Ranks Low in Doctor Satisfaction Survey
UnitedHealth was ranked last among the seven largest national health insurers in an Athenahealth survey of 8,500 doctors examining how quickly and accurately insurers reimburse for physician services, the Wall Street Journal reports.
UnitedHealth took an average of 38.3 days to reimburse doctors for services. The company said 95% of claims are paid within 10 days and are in accordance with state "prompt-pay" laws.
The study ranked Aetna as best among the largest insurers, with an average of 29.8 days to pay claims.
The Medicaid program of New York received the worst scores among all health plans, with an average of 111 days to make payments.
Cigna, the top-ranked national plan overall, attributed its rise from number five last year to new claims-paying technology and infrastructure, according to the Journal.
A spokesperson for sixth-ranked WellPoint called the study too small to be statistically significant and claimed that the insurer's own data consistently shows the company as a top performer (Fuhrmans, Wall Street Journal, 5/3).