You may already know that health insurance companies make up a large part of the US economy, but you may not realize the size of this segment.
In fact, the health and medical insurance industry in the United States is an institution that is currently valued at $ 1.1 trillion and has grown by an average of 2.9 percent annually on average between 2015 and 2020.
And if you're pressed, you can probably name a half dozen health insurance companies. But there are likely many more health insurance providers than most of us realize.
In fact, according to data from ValuePenguin.com,
"In the United States, there are currently more than 900 health insurance companies that provide health coverage. However, five companies dominate the health insurance industry: Anthem, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) and CVS Health Corp ., which controls more than 38% of the market ".
A vast field dominated by a handful of giants
Of the more than 900 health insurance providers, only a few can offer their products and services in California. Of these, Blue Cross Blue Shield California is the largest. Additionally, just 10 companies account for nearly 50 percent of the industry's total market share / revenue, leaving the other half shared by nearly 900 other organizations.
When it comes to classifying these companies by size, metrics matter.
The default measure for many is income. Here are the top five health insurances in the United States ranked by annual revenue in billions of dollars:
- United Health Care Group $ 201.00
- Anthem $ 90.00
- Aetna $ 60.60
- Humana $ 53.70
- Centennial $ 48.30
When sorted by the total number of members included, also known as "life covered" in the industry, the list looks like this:
- UnitedHealthcare Group has 48.9 million members
- Anthem 40.8 million members
- Aetna has 22.1 million members
- Cigna has 17.0 million members
- Humana has 16.6 million members
While these ratings give an idea of the size and scope of listed companies, they do not necessarily reflect the overall quality or rating of members of listed companies.
How do you rate health insurance companies?
Investopedia's focus has been to review data in the non-profit rating group the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey of nearly 300,000 consumers and the satisfaction survey JD Power customer of more than 28,000 Commercial Health Plan members. .
After taking several different elements into consideration, Investopedia ranked its selection of the best health insurers based on dominant benefit.
- Aetna: Best for Medicare
- Blue Cross / Blue Shield: Best for Nationwide Coverage
- Cigna Health Insurance - Best for Worldwide Coverage
- Humana - Best for 360 Degree Coverage (Surround)
- Kaiser Health Plans: Best for HMOs
However, while these are very helpful in narrowing down your picks to three or four controllable contenders, your location and personal coverage needs cannot be taken into account with an invisible third party assessment.
This was echoed by a post on TheBalance.com,
There are many criteria to consider when choosing from the best health insurance companies, including financial strength, customer service ratings, claims service, plan pricing, policy offerings, coverage benefits, and options. from providers. But what is best for you depends on the type of health insurance you need, your budget, and what is available in your area.
The region you live in will determine which health insurance companies you can access, and coverage options vary from state to state.
Another important consideration is your role in the purchase decision and your status as a potential member.
For example, your options will be determined by whether you are a small business owner looking to offer health insurance coverage to your employees, an individual or parent with a family that purchases your coverage, someone whose income qualifies you for Covered California, or a person greater than qualifies you for Covered California. Looking for a California Medicare plan.
Each of these scenarios presents its own options and limitations to the options of the health insurance provider.
Overall, we will rank the top five health insurance companies serving California as follows:
- United Health Care
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Humana
- Kaiser Permanente
Let's take a closer look at the top five health insurance providers for California residents.
Top 5 Health Insurance Companies
1. United Health Care
UnitedHealthcare has an excellent financial strength rating from AM Best Company and is part of UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the United States, according to The Balance. This means that it has proven to be a quality insurance company.
UnitedHealthcare offers individual insurance plans that meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for basic care.
Overall, UnitedHealthCare offers one of the largest PPO networks in the country and the online healthcare services are highly rated.
Since no organization is perfect, there are some less than positive elements to point out here. Overall customer satisfaction ratings in the 2019 JD Power Business Member Health Plan study were average or below average.
2. AETNA
Aetna enjoys an excellent reputation among members and is also one of the largest for-profit health insurance companies in the country. Like UnitedHealthcare, Aetna also has a financial strength rating of "A" (excellent) with AM Best Company.
According to the Aetna website,
"Aetna offers health insurance, as well as dental, vision and other plans, to meet the needs of individuals, families, and (and) employers."
Aetna offers affordable private health insurance plans with options including preventive care, office visits, hospitalization, immunizations, and other types of essential health care services. Aetna also provides access to HSA plans, which members can use with highly discounted plans.
Some of the Aetna benefits include good health features, comprehensive national coverage, and wellness programs. However, the company's website and apps only received a 3.5-star rating from Insure.com, and when it comes to overall customer satisfaction, only 75 percent of customers indicated that they would recommend Aetna to a friend. .
3. Anthem Blue Cross
Anthem Blue Cross is the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's largest for-profit managed care company. In addition, it is also one of the largest healthcare companies in the United States.
The Anthem website says so
Through its subsidiaries, Anthem serves more than 106 million people, including more than 42 million within its portfolio of health plans. Our goal is to be the most innovative, valuable and inclusive partner. "
"One in eight Americans is covered for their health care through Anthem plans," she adds.
The company is California's largest health insurance company operating as Anthem Blue Cross and currently has about 800,000 members.
Insure.com rated Anthem Blue Cross 4 out of 5 stars in its annual review of the best health insurers. This was divided to get between 3.5 and 4 stars out of 5 in the category of claims, price and customer service, while the website and apps received 4 stars.
4. Humana
Humana Inc., a for-profit health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky, had more than 20 million members in the United States in 2020.
Humana is ranked fifth among the largest health insurers by membership, but is currently the third largest health insurer in the country by market share, behind Aetna and UnitedHealthCare Group.
Enjoy Humana, Inc. Rated A + with the Better Business Bureau, yet it only has a 3.71 composite rating out of a 5-star rating based on BBB customer reviews.
While Humana offers a wide variety of health insurance products and is a great option for health insurance coverage, as of 2018 Humana no longer offers individual health insurance, according to the company's website.
Humana offers a variety of products and services to its members, including health, vision and dental insurance plans. Plus, it's a good fit for many Medicare Advantage plan options and offers Humana Medicare and Medicaid.
Although the company received somewhat negative reviews, it has been very diligent in trying to fix problems and improve the experience for its members. Most of the complaints listed involve software with product or service problems, but this has not affected BBB certification.
Humana has built a reputation for its member benefits, Medicare Advantage customer satisfaction, and great financial stability.
On the downside, there is the problem of a lack of individual health insurance offers and customer service issues.
5. PERMANENT KAISER
Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation's largest nonprofit health insurance providers serving more than 12 million members. Offers plans provided by employer, Medicaid, Medicare, charitable health insurance, and other private insurance plans.
The Kaiser Permanente website indicates that it is
At Kaiser Permanente, doctors are responsible for medical decisions. The permanent medical groups, which serve Kaiser Permanente members, continually develop and refine medical practices to help ensure that care is provided as efficiently and effectively as possible.
According to the 2020 JD Power & Associates Member Commercial Health Plan Study, Kaiser Permanente ranked first in California, Colorado, Maryland, and the North and South Atlantic regions. Additionally, Insure.com ranks Kaiser Permanente as the number one public health insurance company.
When it comes to the pros and cons, Kaiser Permanente scores points through strong customer service, HSA options, the variety of health plans it offers, and choosing one that makes it easier for people to find health insurance from quality.
The "negatives" include areas of its limited coverage, although it is expanding a bit in places like Nevada, for example.
In addition to these five, at JC Lewis Insurance, we work with the following health insurance providers for our California clients (in alphabetical order):
- Blue Shield of California
- CaliforniaChoice
- Centene/Health Net
- Sutter Health Plus
- Western Health Advantage
Experts from local health insurance companies
JC Lewis Insurance, a Sonoma County-based family business of expert brokers, only offers California health insurance plans from top health insurers licensed to do business in California.
Not only are we expert intermediaries, we are also licensed and approved by each of these insurance companies to provide coverage to individuals, families, and small group employers, as well as supplemental drug and prescription plans for seniors.
If you are self-employed or the employer does not offer health benefits, an individual or family plan may be the best option for you or for you and your family.
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