AAFP/FPM Survey Turns the Tables on Health Plans

More than a few family physicians would likely relish the opportunity to grade the performance of the health plans with which they do business.

That opportunity has arrived.

Hunt down the closest computer and participate in the first ever "AAFP/FPM Survey of Physicians' Experiences With Third-Party Payers (Members Only)." Have your AAFP member ID number and password ready when you log in to the site.

The nationwide online survey lets family physicians grade individual health plans on their payment rates, claims processing, formularies and other factors. Read a compilation of the results -- in other words, a giant report card for the payers -- in FPM's April 2007 issue.

The payer report card will highlight high-performing and low-performing companies, and in turn, will help guide the Academy's advocacy efforts.

"Health plans wield considerable power in the current health care system
-- power disproportionate to the value they add," says FPM's Editor-in-Chief Robert Edsall, in his "From the Editor" commentary in the October issue. "And for a long time, they have seemed to hold all the cards, handling contract 'negotiations' with most practices as take-it-or-leave-it affairs."

"You may not be as powerless against them as you feel," writes Edsall. "If knowledge is indeed power, we hope that the results of the (survey) will give you a bit more power."

Of course, says Edsall, the real power of the survey is proportionate to the number of members who take the time to thoughtfully provide their input.

"Venture into cyberspace … and strike a blow for family physician knowledge -- and power," urges Edsall.