Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Ambetter of Peach State, and Humana had high consumer complaints last year that the state decided to be legitimate based on the newly revealed numbers. Complaint data for all health insurers recently disclosed by Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck and his team – the department’s Consumer Services Division handled the complaints.
According to JoAnne Oni, head of consumer services, other states compiled similar statistics, and it was the first time that the Georgia agency has made the information public. Different complaint categories include Automobile, life, and homeowner insurance firms.
The information on health insurance complaints they divided into two groups. One is the complaint-to-premium-revenue ratio for the insurer in 2018. The other factor is the number of complaints that are confirmed. Any percentage greater than 1.00 negative in both categories, with higher values indicating poorer records. The said complaint means that the insurance department has found that the insurer violated the law or that the complaint and the insurer’s answer show that the insurer made a mistake. The complaint data does not cover self-insured large employer health plans.
Anthem Blue Cross of Indiana is Georgia’s largest health insurer that earned $2.4 billion in premium revenue for its Blue Cross Healthcare Plan of Georgia in 2018. It received the most complaints (579), resulting in an “All Complaints Ratio” of 1.50. A total of 81 complaints were confirmed, resulting in a confirmed ratio of 1.87. An Anthem spokesman said the company was analyzing the data on Tuesday. Total complaint and confirmed complaint ratios for Ambetter of Peach State were 1.81 and 1.31, respectively. Approve complaint ratios are 1.42 and 1.40 for two Humana health plans.
Both Kentucky-based Humana and Ambetter’s parent firm based in St. Louis, Centene, could not be reached for their comments.
In a statement released, the Georgia Association of Health Plans noted that member insurers are “currently assessing the data.” They are looking forward to collaborating with Commissioner Beck and the insurance department to improve our Georgia consumers’ experience. There are hundreds of organizations on the complaint list, ranging from Blue Cross, which has a large volume of business, to Reliable Life Insurance Company, which has only $33 in premium revenue.
According to Laura Colbert of Georgians for a Healthy Future, the information may be helpful to some cautious insurance consumers who need to know which insurance firms are best at keeping customers satisfied before deciding where to spend their money.
The more excellent value of this information is for the Georgia Department of Insurance, which can act against insurers who consistently receive poor marks or reward insurers who always prioritize consumers. It may be inclined to prioritize the needs of their customers better as they see how they stack up against their competition.
