The importance of educating the public about Florida health insurance can't be stressed enough. It's an essential tool for consumers to be able to evaluate the quality of a health insurance plan, prior to making a purchasing decision. In Florida, 15 of 31 health insurance HMO plans, Medicaid, and Medicare are losing money, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services. The following article is based on a report, from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, (AHCA), ranking the states 23 commercial managed care health insurance plans, (HMOs). The grades are based on HMO customer surveys conducted by the University of Florida for AHCA. The state uses grading guidelines from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, (NCQA), the national agency that accredits health care entities. The grades are based on 5 categories:

Overall satisfaction, low complaint rate, annual adolescent well care visits, eye exams for peoplewith diabetes, and ability to control high blood pressure. The scores rank from the best, 5 stars, to the worst, 1 star.

Five stars are granted to plans offering levels of service and clinical quality that meet, or exceed the NCQA's requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement. The plans must also achieve the highest performance range. Four stars are given to plans that meet, or exceed the NCQA's requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement. Three stars meet the basic requirements of NCQA. Two stars means that a health plan's service and clinical quality meet some, but not all basic requirements. One star doesn't meet any criteria. The average HMO in Florida has an overall satisfaction level of 3.2 stars out of a possible 5. The highest ranked HMO was Preferred Medical Plan in Miami, receiving five stars in each category except in controlling high blood pressure, in which it scored four.

The following is a listing of the best scored, (four & five stars), HMO's serving South Florida, (alphabetical order).

HMO: Overall Satisfaction
Aetna U.S. Healthcare: 5
NHP Successor: 5
Preferred Medical Plan: 5
Public Health Trust of Dade County: 5
Total Health Choice: 5
United Health Care of Florida: 4