Payer Rankings Don't Tell Providers' Stories

When MGMA-ACMPE (formerly Management Group Medical Association) released its annual ranking of payers in mid-November, the list of who is doing the best job keeping practice professionals satisfied looked exactly the same as last year. Medicare Part B topped the list and United came in at last place.

But a closer look at the satisfaction scores MGMA-ACMPE members assigned to payers reveals practice professionals aren't as happy as the list indicates at first glance.

For the last five years MGMA-ACMPE has conducted a poll to determine group practice professionals' attitudes toward payer interactions. This year, the 13-question survey focused on seven categories:

1. Overall satisfaction
2. Payer communications
3. Provider credentialing
4. Contracting
5. Payment policies
6. System transparency
7. Innovative payment models