Who's happier with their health plan — those in "traditional" managed care plans, or those in so-called "consumer-driven" and high-deductible plans? The latest data from EBRI shows that the overall satisfaction rate among CDHP enrollees is gradually increasing, while it's gradually decreasing among traditional enrollees.

Earlier this year, a study showed concerns over not having enough health coverage are driving down plan member satisfaction with health plans across the country, according to a survey by J.D. Power & Associates. According to the research firm's survey of some 34,000 consumers, 41 percent of existing health plan members said they feel they don't have enough coverage for routine visits, serious illness or injury, health and wellness programs, routine diagnostics and drug coverage.

The annual study measures satisfaction among members of 136 health plans in 18 regions throughout the United States by examining six key factors: coverage and benefits, provider choice, information and communication, claims processing, cost and customer service.

Also driving down satisfaction, unsurprisingly, is health care costs. The study found that 55 percent of members indicate having experienced an increase in costs in 2013, which negatively impacts cost satisfaction. The average monthly premium paid in 2013 is $285. Additionally, the survey found that 35 percent of members said they received a notice of changes in their coverage, networks or rates from their health plan in the past 12 months.

J.D. Power's study said that there are simple things to be done to improve satisfaction from plan members. Among them is timely communication and services — such as wellness programs — that increase member engagement. "Health plans must look for ways to promptly communicate both pre-approvals and cost in order to minimize member anxiety and mitigate concerns about access to care, ultimately increasing customer satisfaction."

Medicare Advantage plans have an even tougher standard for customer satisfaction. HealthPocket, a free website that compares and ranks health insurance plans, studied several major customer service categories tracked by the government: overall call center customer service, dropped calls, on-hold time and accuracy of information received.

HealthPocket found, overall, more than 15 percent of the Medicare Advantage companies examined failed to meet the government standards for customer service through a call center. In this market, bad ratings mean less money. Not good for those who didn't pass the test.

According to Executive Insight magazine, the more their experience elicits their desired emotions, the more patients value the experience and the more engaged they become. Yes, patients are consumers, and they know it, up to a point. Patients exchange money for services, and they want their money's worth. But healthcare is much more than a financial transaction. It's also highly emotional. And engaged patients have a better experience because it is psychologically and emotionally gratifying.

It's also important to understand that the impact of a patients' visit doesn't end when they walk out the door. The type of experience a patient has can also impact the decisions of their friends and family. On average, patients who are satisfied tell three other people about their positive experience while those who are dissatisfied tell up to 25 people. And, social media has multiplied this effect; instead of telling a handful of people about a bad experience, patients can now tell an ever-growing network with the click of a mouse.

A recent survey of more than 1,000 people found that about a third of consumers rely on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, for gathering or sharing medical information. Of that one-third, 41 percent said that social media influence decisions about their choice of a specific hospital, medical facility or physician, according to Lou Carbone, founder, president and chief experience officer of Experiencing Engineering.

Now that you know that your health care customer, insurance consumer, patient or employee are incredibly adept at complaining when things go wrong, it's up to you as the primary decision maker to not ignore problems when they develop. And, you should work hard to prevent issues that are bound to develop if you don't pay attention to the details of good customer satisfaction.

People like to complain when things don't go according to their expectations. Once in a while you may get an "Atta Boy" if someone thinks you got it right. Although it's virtually impossible to make everyone happy in health care, the best way to stay in front of the wolves is to make sure that you don't give them cause to chase you. Customer satisfaction is healthy business.