Judging from the results of the latest JD Power and Associates survey of more than 10,000 Americans, the millions of dollars and countless hours employers spend on health and wellness campaigns may be falling on deaf — and distrusting — ears.

The firm, generally known for its auto rankings, released its first-ever National Health Insurance Plan Satisfaction Study, which surveyed 10,552 consumers on their satisfaction with their health plans.

While the family druggist is still the most trusted source for healthcare information, the family physician is still important to most Americans.

In terms of healthcare advice, doctors are still the most trusted while corporate sources remain amongst the most distrusted with only 2% of a recent J.D. Power survey saying they relied on the advice of their company officials.

These numbers are far lower than those reported by 20,000 respondents to Information Strategies, Inc.’s ongoing polling of employees and others when asked about healthcare choices.

In the ISI surveys, more than 20% of respondents said they turned to company advisors in choosing a healthcare plan but only 9% said they utilized company data for their healthcare decisions.

The growing trend by companies to offer wellness programs and other ways of improving the overall health of their employees may be facing a significant obstacle --- employees don’t trust company provided information.

Among the questions JD Powers asked: Which of the following do you trust the most when it comes to advice about how to stay healthy and how to get the best healthcare? Not surprisingly, a large majority cite their doctors, with 70% naming their primary care physician and 31% saying the specialist they see the most. However, just 2% trust employers most — well behind online health articles (22%), their health plan (12%), the government (8%) and even none of the above (6%). Respondents we’re allowed to make multiple selections (i.e. indicating several “most” trusted sources of information).  

David Stefan, the firm’s executive director of health care practice, surmises that, due to increased cost-shifting, employees have caught on to the fact that “employers have a financial stake in what you do health-wise. Employees might be thinking, ‘Maybe this wellness information is more about lowering health costs than caring about my health.’”

The report also notes that member satisfaction often hinges on the channel used to communicate. For example the highest customer satisfaction ratings were associated with live customer service reps. Web-based and email interactions also generated high satisfaction scores. Lower satisfaction scores resulted from automated phone systems. Notably, the lowest satisfaction scores came from members whose interaction with their plan occurs via brokers.

The study found that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care scored highest in the northeast region; BlueCross BlueShield of Florida topped the south region, BlueCross Blue Shield of Minnesota sits atop the Midwest region, and Premera Blue Cross led the West.

Benefit managers are sharing their reaction to J.D.’s news online. While many readers say it is expected that employees would count their doctor as the most trusted information source. Several realize that the question does generally paint the employer as a poorly trusted source of health information and advice.