Which of the following is the largest medical insurance program in the United States?
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You probably already know that health insurance companies make up a massive segment of the U.S. economy, but you may not realize just how big a segment. Show
In fact, the health and medical insurance industry in the United States is a $1.1 trillion dollar enterprise currently, and one that has grown 2.9 percent each year on average between 2015 and 2020. And if you were pressed, you could probably name a half dozen or so health insurance companies. But there are likely far more health insurance providers than most of us realized. In fact, according to data at ValuePenguin.com,
Watch the Video!A Vast Field Dominated by a Handful of GiantsOf all these 900-plus health insurance providers, only a few can offer their products and services in California. And of these, Blue Cross Blue Shield California is the largest. In addition, just 10 companies make up almost 50 percent of the industry’s overall market share/revenue, which leaves the other half being shared among almost 900 other organizations. When it comes to ranking these companies by size, the metrics matter. The default measurement for many is revenue. Here are the top five health insurers in the United States ranked by annual revenue in billions of dollars:
When ranked by the total number of members covered, also known as “covered lives” in the industry, the list looks like this:
While these rankings give a sense of both the size and reach of the companies listed, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the overall quality or member-rating of the companies listed.  How Do You Rate Health Insurance Companies?The approach taken by Investopedia was to review the data found at the nonprofit rating group the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey of almost 300,000 consumers, and the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey of more than 28,000 commercial health plan members. After factoring in a number of various elements, Investopedia ranked their choice of top health insurance companies by a dominant benefit.
Nonetheless, while these are quite helpful for narrowing down your choices to a manageable three or four contenders, your location and your personal coverage needs cannot be factored by some unseen third-party evaluation. This is echoed by a post at TheBalance.com,
The region you live in will determine which health insurers you have access to, and coverage options vary from state to state.” Another key consideration is your role in the purchasing decision and your status as a potential member. For example, your choices are going to be determined by whether you are a small business owner looking to offer health insurance coverage to your employees, an individual or parent with a family buying your own coverage, someone whose income qualifies you for Covered California, or a senior looking for California Medicare plan. Each of these scenarios presents its own options and limitations for health insurance provider choices. In general, we would rank the top five health insurance companies serving California as:
Let’s take a closer look at these top five health insurance providers for California residents. Spotlighting the Top 5 Health Insurance Companies1. UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare has an excellent financial strength rating from AM Best Company and is a part of UnitedHealth Group, which is the largest health insurer in the United States, according to The Balance. This means that it has established itself as a quality insurer. UnitedHealthcare offers individual insurance plans that meet the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements for essential care. Overall, UnitedHealthCare offers one of the largest PPO networks in the nation, and its online health care services have been highly rated. Because no organization is perfect, there are a few less-than-positive items that need to be noted here. Their overall customer satisfaction ratings in the J.D. Power Commercial Member Health Plan Study for 2019 were average or less-than-average.
2. AetnaAetna has an excellent reputation among members and is also one of the largest for-profit health insurers in the country. And, like UnitedHealthcare, Aetna also has an “A” (excellent) financial strength rating with AM Best Company. According to the Aetna corporate website,
Aetna offers affordable private health insurance plans with options including preventive care, office visits, hospitalization, immunizations, and other types of essential health care services. Aetna also provides access to HSA plans, which members can use with high-deductible plans. Some of the upsides of Aetna include their HSAs, the comprehensive nationwide coverage, and their wellness programs. However, the company’s website and apps only received a 3.5-star rating from Insure.com and, when it comes to overall customer satisfaction, only 75 percent of customers have indicated that they would recommend Aetna to a friend.
3. Anthem Blue CrossAnthem Blue Cross is the largest for-profit managed health care company in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. In addition, it is also one of the largest healthcare companies in the United States. Anthem’s corporate website notes that,
It adds that “One in eight Americans receives coverage for their medical care through Anthem’s affiliated plans.” The company is the largest health insurer in the state of California where it operates as Anthem Blue Cross and currently has about 800,000 members. Insure.com gave Anthem Blue Cross a 4 out of 5-star rating in their annual review of Best Health Insurance Companies. This was broken down as earning between 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5 in the category of claims, price, and customer service, while their website and apps earned them a 4-star rating.
4. HumanaHumana Inc., a for-profit health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky, had over 20 million members in the U.S. as of 2020. Humana comes in as the fifth-largest health insurance company by membership but is currently the third-largest health insurance company in the nation in terms of market share, behind Aetna and UnitedHealthCare Group. Humana, Inc. has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau although it only earned a composite score of 3.71 out of 5-star rating based on BBB customer reviews. While Humana offers a wide variety of health insurance products and is considered a great choice for health insurance coverage, as of 2018, Humana is no longer offering individual medical insurance, according to their corporate website. Humana offers a wide variety of products and services to its members including health, vision, and dental insurance plans. Furthermore, they are a good option for many Medicare Advantage plan options, and Humana provides Medicare and Medicaid. Although the company has been given somewhat negative reviews, they have been very diligent in attempting to fix issues and improve their member’s experience. The majority of complaints listed include programs with products or service issues, but this has not impacted their BBB accreditation. Humana has earned kudos for its member benefits, it’s Medicare Advantage customer satisfaction and its impressive financial stability. On the downside, there is the issue of a lack of individual health insurance offerings and problems with customer service.
5. Kaiser PermanenteKaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health insurance providers and serves over 12 million members. It offers employer-provided plans, Medicaid, Medicare, charitable health insurance, and other private insurance plans. The Kaiser Permanente website notes that,
According to the 2020 J.D. Power & Associates Commercial Member Health Plan Study, Kaiser Permanente ranked at the top in California, Colorado, Maryland, and the Northwest and South Atlantic regions. In addition, Insure.com ranks Kaiser Permanente as the number one overall health insurer.
When it comes to pros and cons, Kaiser Permanente earns points with their strong customer service, HSA options, the variety of health plans they offer, and a plan selection that makes it easy for people to find good health insurance. The “cons” include their limited coverage areas, though they are expanding a bit in places such as Nevada, for example. In addition to these five, at JC Lewis Insurance, we work with the following health insurance providers for our California customers (in alphabetical order):
Your Local Health Insurance Company ExpertsJC Lewis Insurance, a family-owned firm of expert brokers based in Sonoma County, offers California health insurance plans only from the leading health insurance carriers licensed to do business in California. Not only are we expert brokers, we are licensed and certified by each of these insurance carriers to offer coverage to individuals, families, and small group employers in addition to Medicare supplemental and prescription drug plans for seniors. If you are self-employed, or your employer doesn’t provide health benefits, an individual or family plan may be the best option for you or you and your family. And if you’re looking to purchase medical insurance for you and your family, you will likely have many questions and concerns. Bring your questions about health coverage insurance and you can be confident that JC Lewis Insurance Services will help you find the right solution. What is the largest health insurance program in the US?Program: Overview
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the single largest payer for health care in the United States.
What is the largest medical insurance program in the United States quizlet?Medicare is the largest single medical benefits program in the United States. The AMA is responsible for the operation of the Medicare program and for selecting Medicare administrative contractors (MACs). Medicare Part D is a prescription drug coverage plan.
What is the single largest health insurer in the US?These are the largest health insurance providers in the country ranked according to direct written premiums based on NAIC's data.. UnitedHealth Group. Headquarters: Minnetonka, Minnesota. ... . Kaiser Foundation. Headquarters: San Francisco, California. ... . Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) ... . Centene. ... . Humana. ... . CVS Health. ... . HCSC. ... . Cigna.. What is the largest source of healthcare coverage?Of the subtypes of health insurance coverage, employment-based insurance was the most common, covering 54.4 percent of the population for some or all of the calendar year, followed by Medicare (18.4 percent), Medicaid (17.8 percent), direct-purchase coverage (10.5 percent), TRICARE (2.8 percent), and Department of ...
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