Insurance Companies Get Failing Grades from Hospitals

The country’s largest health insurers have taken it upon themselves to rate hospitals on quality and cost and, then, make their findings known to the public. The insurers say that, based on the ratings, health care consumers can make better choices when choosing a hospital.

In a back-at-you move, hospital executives, in a recent survey, have rated insurance companies based on how promptly and fairly they respond to claims. Three of the five biggest insurers had larger negative approval ratings than positive ones. One company received negative ratings from 91% of the survey respondents.

OK, mainly I’m surprised that anyone is surprised. Run of the mill citizens, such as myself, have known pretty much forever that insurance companies are famous, not only for disallowing too many claims, but for sending the most confusing statements known to man. My big gripe is that often the charges are posted months after the actual date of service, which makes it a challenge to figure out what the charges are for. Would it be so hard to post the date of service? I’m sorry, but I need simple.

Back to the survey. The information is supposed to be a wake-up call for employers who provide group health plans for their work force to investigate and choose insurers that take care of claims without hassle and that have good working relationships with their primary providers.

I happen to be self-insured, so it is imperative that I be a good and educated consumer when it comes to buying health insurance. It’s no walk in the park, I’ll tell you that. I dread my birthdays because, not only do they signal growing older, that’s when I usually get the notice that my premium has made a big jump. Happy birthday to me.