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41% of the families
were very satisfied with the child’s main health plan, 42% were somewhat
satisfied, 11% were somewhat dissatisfied, and 5% were very dissatisfied.
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33% would definitely
recommend their child’s plan to other families of children with special
health care needs, 41% would probably recommend, 18% would probably not
recommend, and 8% would definitely not recommend their child’s plan.
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25% would definitely
not switch plans if they could, 43% would probably not switch, 22% probably
would switch, and 9% would definitely switch if they could.
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Overall, almost
two-thirds (63%) of the families were somewhat or very satisfied, probably
or definitely would recommend their child’s plan to others, and probably
or definitely would not switch plans if they could.
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One third (37%) of
the families expressed dissatisfaction on at least one of these three
indicators. 13% expressed dissatisfaction on all three of these indicators.
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One third of the
families in the study had contacted their child’s main health plan
regarding a problem experienced in the preceding year. A quarter reported
that the issue had not been resolved to their satisfaction.
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With respect to the
overall benefits provided by the child’s main health plan, 22% rated them
as excellent, 39% rated them were good, 28% rated them okay, and 12% rated
them poor.
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Families gave their
child’s health plan higher ratings for the provision of skilled and
experienced primary care (80% rated
excellent or good) and specialty care doctors (75% rated excellent or good)
than for the provision of skilled and experienced other specialists, such as
physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists, etc.
(54% rated excellent or good).
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Families gave their
child’s health plan the lowest ratings for the provision of clear
information about what services are covered (53% rated okay or poor), how to
access covered services (57% rated okay or poor), other services outside the
plan that may be needed by the child (73% rated okay or poor), and how to
file a complaint (65% rated okay or poor).
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Families whose child
was in fair or poor health, had more severe conditions, or whose health was
unstable were less satisfied with their child’s plan than families of
children whose health status was better, less severe, and whose health care
needs were stable.
-
Families of children
with mental health conditions, behavior problems, or autism and families of
children with allergies or
digestive gastrointestinal disorders were significantly more dissatisfied
with their child’s main health plan than families of
children with other conditions.
-
Parental satisfaction
with their child’s main health plan was not correlated with the frequency
with which their child was seen by the primary care physician or by
specialists.
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Parental satisfaction
with their child’s main health plan was lower for parents who had more
formal education, who were themselves in poorer health, or who had more than
one child with special health care needs. There was no relation between
parental income, marital status, or employment status and satisfaction with
the child’s health plan.
-
Parents whose
child’s main health plan was paid by Medicaid were more satisfied with the
plan than parents who purchased their child’s health coverage privately.
-
There was no
relationship between parental satisfaction with the child’s main health
plan and whether or not the child also had a secondary health plan.
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No differences in
parental satisfaction with the child’s main health plan were found based
on whether the doctor most important to the child’s care was a primary
care doctor or a specialist. There were no significant differences in
ratings of the quality of the care provided by the doctor most important to
the child’s care between those who were a primary care doctor or a
specialist.
-
Parents whose
child’s plan used cost containment policies (such as having a restricted
list of providers and requiring a referral for specialty care) were less
satisfied with their child’s plan in comparison to those whose child’s
plan did not have these policies.
