A few Coventry workers comp folks were not happy with my characterization of their customer service as less than optimal. They all noted that their customers seem happy and appreciate the high level of service at Coventry.
I don’t doubt that some customers are pleased; I also know that some are not.
The payers I work with tend to be larger, more sophisticated, more demanding, more educated. The individuals I speak with are under a lot of pressure to do more with less, to deliver better medical outcomes and ideally lower medical expenses (or at least reduce the rate of increase). This demographic is not pleased; here’s what they are saying.
Networks
The new Coventry WC division is continuing to tout the bigger is better model; the larger the network the more the savings. While this has not been entirely discredited, many payers have moved beyond this to recognize that the key is not how many docs are in the network, but rather are the right ones in.
Larger payers that Coventry has not made much progress in this regard. In all fairness, Coventry has only recently completed the acquisition of Concentra, and is still going thru the consolidation. But, Coventry has owned First Health for almost two-and-a-half years, and has been hearing this from customers for a good part of that period.
Bill review
The bill review engine is also less than satisfactory for many payers; one of their largest customers is currently going thru an RFP process and another is planning a transition to another vendor later this year.
Again, Coventry inherited the engine from First Health, but they’ve had it for thirty months.
The new management is working hard to address these issues, and by some accounts is making some progress. We’ll know a lot more by the end of the summer…
