Health Insurance Blog

Posting the top Pennsylvania Health Plans (as ranked by US News and World Report in Conjunction with NCQA) is the 6th state in the series here at healthinsurancesort.com.  Previous state rankings have been posted for the following midwestern states:  Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin.

According to the 2008 rankings:  the top Pennsylvania health insurance plans were:

1. Geisinger Health Plan- The #5 ranked health plan nationally received outstanding scores on all measures (customer assessment, prevention, and treatment)
2. HealthAmerica Pennsylvania/HealthAssurance Pennsylvania - A Coventry HealthCare Company
3. UPMC Health Plans
4. Keystone Health Plan (Central)
5. Keystone Health Plan (West)
6. Capital Advantage Insurance Company
7. Keystone Health Plan East
8. CIGNA
9. Aetna Health
10. First Priority Health

Pennsylvania is a fragmented market for health insurers, with many insurers covering a service area focusing on a region within Pennsylvania.  Blue Cross Blue Shield has several different licensees that do business within the state including the three regional Keystone plans listed below.

US News and World Report recently released their health plan rankings for 2008, based on NCQA Data collection and analysis.  The 4th annual rankings provided via the collaboration between US News and the NCQA, aims to help health insurance shoppers select quality health plans.  Costs will likely always be one of the most if not the most important factor to shoppers when considering a health plan, but this report seeks to make factors such as preventing and treating illness, as well as customer service more transparent to health insurance shoppers.

The top 10 Commercial Plans according to their analysis were:

1. Harvard Pilgrim Health care
2. Tufts Associated HMO
3. Harvard Pilgrim Health care of New England
4. Grand Valley Health Plan
5. Geisinger Health Plan
6. Health New England
7. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Connecticut
8. Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin
9. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
10. CIGNA Healthcare of New Hampshire

126 health plans refused to furnish performance related data and were unable to be included in the analysis, the three largest of such plans were Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and Wellpath Select.

Check Back later for regional rankings that will be posted later in the week, as the US News national rankings seem to favor the New England region as a result of more stringent mandated benefits in that region of the country which skew results.