Harvard Pilgrim Health Care topped the list of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) annual rankings of health insurance plans in 2013, followed by the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest.
Harvard Pilgrim, a repeat winner, had four plans (in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire) in NCQA's top 10 list. Four of the five top plans are in the Boston-New England region. The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan serves Oregon and Washington.
NCQA, a non-profit group that accredits healthcare organizations for improving quality, ranked 484 private health plans, 131 Medicaid HMOs and 405 Medicare Advantage plans based on their clinical performance, member satisfaction and NCQA accreditation. To be eligible for ranking, health plans had to authorize public release of their performance information and submit data for analysis.
Health plans were ranked based on their combined Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) and NCQA accreditation scores.
The NCQA's top 10 health insurance plans for 2013-2014 are:
1. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care - HMO (Maine, Mass.)
2. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest – HMO (Ore., Wash.)
3. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue – HMO
4. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care – PPO (Mass.)
5. Harvard Pilgrim Insurance – PPO (Mass.)
6. Tufts Associated HMO – (Mass.)
7. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Northern California – HMO
8. Tufts Benefit Administrators – PPO (Mass., R.I.)
9. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England – HMO (N.H.)
10. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio – HMO