Health Insurance Blog

In US News and World Reports recent ranking of the the nations top health insurance plans, CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic was rated as the top health plan in Virginia.  The US News rankings are based on member satisfaction, as well as their effectiveness in both preventing and treating illnesses.

According to the report the top 5 Commercial Health Plans in Virginia were:

1. CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic
2. Optima Health Plan
3. Southern Health Services
4. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States
5. UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley

CIGNA HealthCare Mid-Atlantic ranked 42nd nationally out of more than 600 health plans that participated in the report.

More information about Virginia health insurance.

According to a recent research report written by Debra A. Donahue of Mark Farrah and Associates, the individual health insurance marketplace is growing.  As of the end of Q2 2009, national individual health insurance enrollment totaled about 9.7 Million, up from about 9.6 Million from the previous year.  This enrollment does not include those individuals enrolled in Medicare Health Plans, or other state sponsored Programs.  Part of this growth is being fueled by high unemployment rates and less people having access to group sponsored plans.

The report makes it crystal clear that Wellpoint is the largest and most dominant player in the individual health insurance marketplace, albeit partly due to their large geographic footprint, covering 15 states.

The top 5 health plans ranked by enrollment in individual health plans include:

1. Wellpoint - with enrollment of over 2.25 Million (23% market share)
2. HCSC (Health Care Services Corporation) - 670,000 (7%)
3. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida - 370,000 (4%)
4. Kaiser Foundation Health Plans - 344,000 (4%), down 12% from previous year
5. Humana - 336,000 (4%), up 28% from previous year

Humana increased the number of states it offered it HumanaOne individual health insurance plan from 15 states to 24 states in March 2008, which accounted for their large increase in enrollment.

Wellpoint and HCSC are both health insurance companies that offer Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Plans in multiple states.  Wellpoint includes 15 BCBS licensees, and HCSC 4.

Open enrollment for Medicare Advantage plans is rapidly approaching (November 15 - December 31).  We thought we’d blog about some of the top rated plans in each state according to US News and World Reports annual rankings.

In California, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan boasts the 2 top ranked plans in the state. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Southern California was the top rated Medicare health plan in California with an overall score of 88.1, followed by Kaiser’s plan covering Northern California (86.8).  These two plans were followed by Health Net of California (83.2), Pacificare of California (81.7) and Aetna Health of California (80.4).

None of the twenty California Medicare Plans ranked in this study received a customer assessment score of greater than three stars out of five.  However, both Kaiser plans faired very well in both treatment and prevention measures, with five stars.

More information about California health insurance.

Continuing the coverage of J.D. Power and Associates 2009 health plan ratings, below are their ratings of leading health plans in Colorado.

1. Kaiser Foundation Health Plans was rated the top health plan in Colorado and among the best in the nation.  In addition to this top rating in Colorado, their were also rated tops in California as well.
2. Aetna -For the most part average across the board
3. CIGNA - Rated among the best nationally in terms of provider choice, but simply average in overall experience
4. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of CO - Rated among the best nationally in terms of provider choice, but simply average in overall experience
5. Great-West HealthCare - below average
6. UnitedHealthCare - below average

More information about Colorado health insurance