Military Beneficiaries Rate Satisfaction with US Family Health Plan in 99th Percentile
ARLINGTON, Va. (October 31, 2013) – Amid the ongoing national conversation regarding access to high-quality, affordable health care, military family members have validated that they are highly satisfied with the Department of Defense-sponsored health care option known as the US Family Health Plan (usfhp.com). The plan, for eligible military beneficiaries in six regions of the United States, has achieved a 2013 overall member satisfaction rating of 92.5 percent, far surpassing the satisfaction rates of other managed care plans for 19 consecutive years.
The national benchmark for member satisfaction with their health plan is 65.2 percent, as calculated by The Myers Group (of Duluth, Ga.) – a National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) certified survey vendor – and based on 203 Commercial Audit Survey results which were submitted to the NCQA in 2013. Compared with those 203 health plans, the US Family Health Plan is in the 99th percentile for overall member satisfaction. Customer service and the ability to get needed care have been substantiated as among the key drivers of the US Family Health Plan’s consistently high member satisfaction rating.
“Our large, local health care networks of primary care physicians, hospitals and affiliated specialists are leading the way with DoD in providing patient-centered care to military family members,” said David Howes, chair of the board of the US Family Health Plan Alliance, which represents the collective interests of the plan’s regional networks in interactions with Congress, DoD and the private sector. “Our initiatives continue to align well with DoD’s Quadruple Aim Strategy to enhance family readiness, support population health, create positive care experiences, and responsibly manage health care costs.”
Henry J. “Jim” Schweiter, chief executive officer of the US Family Health Plan Alliance, said, “As a former active-duty officer and current dependent, I can assure you that we remain committed to facilitating the best health care that the Defense Health Agency can provide. Current budget pressures notwithstanding, we must ensure that military family members receive the top-notch health care that they deserve.”
The US Family Health Plan, a TRICARE Prime option, serves active-duty family members, including activated National Guard and Reserve family members, and retirees and their family members. The local health care networks through which members receive care include Brighton Marine Health Center (serving Massachusetts, Rhode Island and northern Connecticut), CHRISTUS Health (serving southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana), Johns Hopkins Medicine (serving Maryland, Washington D.C. and parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware and West Virginia), Martin’s Point Health Care (serving Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, upstate and western New York, and the northern tier of Pennsylvania), Pacific Medical Centers (PacMed Clinics, serving the Puget Sound area of Washington State), and St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (serving New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut, New Jersey, and Philadelphia and area suburbs).
The independent assessment of 5,106 US Family Health Plan members was conducted by The Myers Group utilizing the most widely used set of metrics in the managed care industry, the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) 5.0H Survey, to measure performance on key dimensions of care and service.
CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
