A state report released last week shows that Rhode Island’s health insurers did a better job satisfying their members during 1999.
The Rhode Island Department of Health issued the 42-page study, which is the second annual comprehensive review of operations at the state’s health plans. The report card says the state’s commercial health plans compared favorably to plans in other states in terms of access to and effectiveness of health care.
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Scores for childhood immunizations, cholesterol management and diabetes care all were higher than the national average. The report says that while the performance measures were favorable on a national scale, they are “far from acceptable.”
Satisfaction with health-care providers was high compared to national statistics. Eighty percent of Rhode Islanders reported being satisfied with their physicians or nurses; 82 percent were satisfied with their specialists.
Sixty-five percent of Rhode Islanders said they were satisfied with their health plans, which exceeded the national average by 17 percent and was higher than the New England average by 13 percent.
Health insurers’ denied fewer claims in 1999. According to the study, the state’s health plans had 23 percent fewer cases of denying care during 1999, despite a nearly 9 percent increase in members. The number of appeals by members dropped by 43 percent.
In addition to highlighting improvements in health plan performance, the report also reflects trends of how state residents use health-care services.
Rhode Islanders were hospitalized less frequently than health-plan members in other states: Hospital-discharge rates were 16 percent less than the national average. However, the average length of hospital stays was 16 percent greater than the national average and emergency-room admissions in Rhode Island were 18 percent higher.
The health depart-ment’s report is mandated by a 1996 law that requires health plans to submit detailed information about their operations.
“This report is perhaps the most exhaustive analysis of health plans in the country,” Rhode Island Director of Health Patricia A. Nolan said in a written statement. “It should help consumers and employers in understanding and choosing a health plan for their families or businesses.”
The report has side-by-side comparisons of a vast array of statistics compiled by the state’s commercial health insurers, including Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, United Healthcare of New England, Coordinated Health Partners and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.
The report can be accessed at the health department’s Web site: www.healthri.org.
