Regional MA plans have higher customer satisfaction than commercial plans

TROY, Mich.: 20 Aug. 2024 — Even as the nation’s hospitals and health systems continue to battle with Medicare Advantage programs over reimbursement rates, customer satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans is significantly higher than with commercial member health plans. According to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study,  released today, the most important factors driving customer satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans are ease of finding care, low out-of-pocket costs and provider choice.

“The study shows that regional Medicare Advantage plans, on average, are outperforming commercial member health plans in overall customer satisfaction, and it is important to understand why,” said Christopher Lis, managing director of global healthcare intelligence at J.D. Power. “It can be attributed to the top five drivers of satisfaction in the Medicare Advantage shopping experience, which are: preferred in-network doctors; adequate prescription drug coverage; preferred in-network hospitals and facilities; previous experience with a health plan; and existence of a copay.”

Following are some of the key findings of the 2024 study:

• Access to care, provider choice are key drivers of customer satisfaction: Overall customer satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans is 652 (on a 1,000-point scale). Top drivers of customer satisfaction are ease of finding care; low out-of-pocket costs; and provider choice.
• Performance of Medicare Advantage vs. commercial member plans: Satisfaction among Medicare Advantage customers is 87 points higher than among customers of commercial member plans. The largest gaps in customer satisfaction in specific aspects of the customer experience are: helps me to save time or money (+128 points); ease of doing business (+93); level of trust (+92); and product/coverage offerings meet my needs (+90).
• Top-performing regional plans set the pace for customer satisfaction: While average overall satisfaction scores are highest among national health plans, the top-performing individual regional Medicare Advantage plans—UMPC For Life, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Independence Blue Cross, Geisinger Gold and Priority Health Medicare—significantly outperform the top-performing national plans.

“As the 2025 Medicare open enrollment period rapidly approaches, there are several important factors that Medicare-eligible seniors should consider when evaluating health insurance options for the coming year,” said Caitlin Moling, senior director of global healthcare intelligence at J.D. Power. “Current health status; access to preferred doctors and facilities; access to healthcare in specific regions/locations; and out-of-pocket costs are just a few of the key variables that can weigh heavily on the customer experience with Medicare Advantage plans. The more consumers know about what kinds of care they’re likely to need and the detailed coverage their health plan provides going into a contract, the better the experience they will likely have during the course of their relationship with that plan.”

Study rankings

Kaiser Permanente ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in California, with a score of 666. Alignment Health Plan (665) ranks second and SCAN Health Plan (652) ranks third.

UnitedHealthcare ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Florida, with a score of 689. Freedom Health Inc. (672) ranks second and Aetna Medicare (668) ranks third.

UnitedHealthcare ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Georgia, with a score of 671. Humana (663) ranks second.

UnitedHealthcare ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Illinois, with a score of 677.

Priority Health Medicare ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Michigan, with a score of 677. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (676) ranks second and HAP Senior Plus (669) ranks third.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in New York for a second consecutive year, with a score of 654. Healthfirst Medicare Plan (625) ranks second and UnitedHealthcare (624) ranks third.

UnitedHealthcare ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in North Carolina, with a score of 690. Aetna Medicare (680) ranks second.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Ohio, with a score of 663. Aetna Medicare (660) ranks second.

UPMC For Life ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Pennsylvania for a second consecutive year, with a score of 699. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (691) ranks second and Independence Blue Cross (678) ranks third.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas ranks highest in overall satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans in Texas for a second consecutive year, with a score of 665. Humana (655) ranks second and Cigna Healthcare (637) ranks third.

The U.S. Medicare Advantage Study, now in its 10^th year, measures member satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans—also known as Medicare Part C or Part D—based on eight factors (in order of importance): level of trust; able to get health services how/when I want; helping to save me time or money; product/coverage offerings meet my needs; ease of doing business; people—representatives, call center agents; resolving problems or complaints; and digital channels.

The 2024 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study is based on the responses of 10,718 members of Medicare Advantage plans in 10 market-based U.S. regions: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. It was fielded from January through June 2024.

For more information about the U.S. Medicare Advantage Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/us-medicare-advantage-study.