Hospital executives are exacting some revenge on payers that they perceive as being difficult to work with.
Responses from 113 hospital executives, representing about 500 hospitals, found that about nine out of 10 had an unfavorable opinion of United Healthcare. By contrast, the unfavorable rating for five other large insurers in the survey was 41 percent.
The results were reported by Davies Public Affairs, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based firm that represents some hospitals that commissioned the survey. The results were based on interviews with CEOs, CFOs and directors of managed care by Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates, Inc.
The results mirrored last year's results, which found that 87 percent of participants ranked United as "difficult" or "very difficult" to deal with, said Brandon Edwards, president and COO of Davies.
"All insurance companies are big and most are regarded as tight-fisted by providers," Edwards said. "But the survey indicates that United takes things to a different level - providers see them as untrustworthy and dishonest."
In comments in a Los Angeles Times article, a United Healthcare executive challenged the findings and methodology of the report, and he said the company pays the vast majority of claims submitted to it within 10 days.
Hospital executives were surveyed on responses to more than a dozen categories, from image and reputation to detailed contract negotiation and claims processing issues. The respondents were guaranteed anonymity.
Davies' results found United Healthcare as the worst-ranking insurer in each category.
Among other insurers, Wellpoint Inc. of Indianapolis was ranked second with a 48 percent unfavorable rating and Philadelphia-based Cigna was mentioned unfavorably by 47 percent of respondents.
"When you have survey data that are this conclusive, you've got to question whether it is a deliberate business practice to disregard the needs of the providers of care," said Nathan Kaufman, a national healthcare strategy consultant and managing director of Kaufman Strategic Advisors, in commenting on the results.
"Most negotiations between health plans and providers take place behind closed doors, so this survey reveals payers through the eyes of the people who know how they act when no one is watching: the hospitals that deal with them every day," Kaufman said.