Mass. health plans top list of nation's best insurers
Amid worries about the rising price tag for healthcare reform and continued double-digit increases in medical coverage, most Massachusetts residents can at least take comfort in the continued high rankings of their insurance plans.
For the fourth consecutive year, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is the best commercial health plan in the nation, according to US News & World Report magazine and the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a respected nonprofit that ranks health plans.
For the second straight year, Tufts Health Plan was ranked number two, with a score just slightly lower than Harvard Pilgrim's.
Other high scorers included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, ranked ninth nationwide, down from fourth last year; and Fallon Community Health Plan, ranked 18th, compared with 12th place last year.
Other plans in New England also scored well. Harvard Pilgrim's New Hampshire plan is ranked third nationally. Health New England, which provides coverage in central and western Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut, ranked sixth. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut is seventh, and Cigna Healthcare of New Hampshire is 10th.
The ranking of 239 insurance plans nationwide, called America's Best Health Plans, looks at insurers' records for preventive care, treatment, customer service, and care for particular conditions such as diabetes.
"New England outperforms the nation in these dimensions of care," said Jeff Van Ness, a spokesman for the National Committee for Quality Assur ance. "In general, there is a high level of performance among New England plans."
Dr. Allen Hinkle, Tufts' chief medical officer, said that for several measures the insurer had the highest ranking of any health plan, including preventive care visits for infants and adolescents.
"I'm proud that at a time when we're trying to control medical costs, we've been able to simultaneously improve clinical quality and member satisfaction," said Hinkle.
Charles D. Baker, chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim, said the company's Massachusetts plans earned the highest scores in the United States for "the overall health plan experience."
Baker said, "The big challenge we face is going to be maintaining high performance when everybody is stressed by the financial downturn that seems inevitable."
In a separate listing for government-paid health plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts had the fourth-highest rated Medicare Advantage plan. Among Medicaid plans - which provide coverage for the low-income and disabled - Fallon Community Health Plan was top-ranked, followed by Neighborhood Health Plan.
Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at krasner@globe.com. 