WellPoint viewed worst by hospitals as UnitedHealth improves, survey says

WellPoint Inc. (WLP), the health insurer that's lost 18 percent of its market value over two months, is the least popular carrier among hospital executives who have to negotiate with the company, an industry survey shows. The second-biggest U.S. health plan was ranked last among the six largest for-profit insurers, undercut by low ratings for rejecting claims and fixing wrongly-denied bills. The poll of 403 executives was conducted by ReviveHealth, a communications company that works with hospitals. The showing for Indianapolis–based WellPoint was its worst in the survey's six years.