Insurer Medical Mutual ranks at top of Ohio customer health care

6/28/2014

Medical Mutual of Ohio has been ranked highest in customer satisfaction among Ohio health insurers by J.D. Power and Associates.

The Cleveland company was one of six Ohio providers rated by J.D. Power. Medical Mutual earned top marks in overall customer experience and six other individual categories, including provider choice, claims processing, cost, and coverage and benefits.

“I cannot tell you how honored we are to receive this award from J.D. Power and it just goes to show what I have being saying for years about our commitment to providing the best customer experience possible,” Rick Chiricosta, Medical Mutual of Ohio’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer said in a statement. “This commitment to excellence is more than just talk, it is at the center of our company’s core values, which makes Medical Mutual stand out from the rest of the pack.”

The insurer provides benefits to about 1.6 million Ohioans.

J.D. Power measured member satisfaction among more than 130 health plans in 18 regions throughout the country. In Michigan, the top-ranked insurer was Health Alliance Plan of Michigan. The Detroit insurer is a subsidiary of the Henry Ford Health System.

Medical Mutual was founded 80 years ago this month as the Cleveland Hospital Service Association. The company said the prepayment hospitalization plan it offered in 1934 was one of the first plans of its kind and the first multihospital payment plan. Since then the company has had a number of mergers. For a number of years it was known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio. It’s been Medical Mutual of Ohio since 1997. Today it is the largest health insurer in Ohio.

Medical Mutual employs 2,300 people in Ohio, including about 500 in Toledo.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134 or on Twitter @BladeAutoWriter.