How Happy Are Healthy NY Members With Their Coverage?

Every year Healthy NY conducts a survey to check how members feel about being part of this New York health insurance program. This information is included in their annual report. The survey was conducted by Burns & Associates, Inc. (B&A) during the summer of 2010.

The survey was given to 12% of sole proprietors and working individuals who enrolled as of March 2010. This totals to 8,685 members. The following variables were included: enrollment whether enrolled as a sole proprietor or a working individual, health plan carrier, county of home address, year of enrollment, age, gender, and Healthy NY plan selected. Burns & Associates, Inc. (B&A) collected information from both the Insurance Department and health insurance carriers from whom more than 1% of the Healthy NY members are enrolled.

B&A sent out the survey through mail. Those who were not able to respond to the first mailing were sent a second mail. They were able to get a total of 4,181 responses. Most of the responses were sent by women and those who were 31 years old and above. Most of the respondents were enrolled with Excellus health insurance plans.  In terms of area, New York City has a low response rate while Western New York had a lot of respondents. But aside from those mentioned above, the results of the 2009 survey were generally similar to those of 2010.

Respondents were asked why they chose the Healthy New York plan that they have. The majority (a little over 30%) of the respondents said it’s because of the inexpensive premium rates. The second most cited reason is that they have had that health plan before. Another reason is their belief in the credibility of the health plan carrier.

In terms of loyalty, 9 out of 10 members choose to remain with the plan and insurance provider. Those who change to another Healthy NY plan point to cost as the primary reason. They switch to other Healthy NY plan products that cost less even if it means forgoing prescription drug coverage.

The respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction from “very unsatisfied” to “very satisfied”. When it comes to cost, only 47% said that they were very satisfied. But this is higher compared to the 2009 survey where it got 39%. For the application process, 53% were very satisfied. The previous year’s satisfaction was only 42%. There is also an increase in members’ satisfaction rating for customer service. Overall, members are more satisfied with their Healthy NY plan in the present year (2010, when the survey was conducted) compared to the previous year.

In the comments section however, members indicated several aspects where members are not happy such as the prescription limit ($3000 per coverage year), no coverage for dental, mental, vision, and chiropractic care, and annual physical that’s limited to one in three years.