That doesn't make sense. A majority of the frum community in Brooklyn that has Medicaid or EP chooses United HealthCare Community Plan even though any of the choices are equally free. Why would they all willingly choose UHC if UHC is supposedly worse than the other Medicaid Managed Care carriers?
And why would you rate Fidelis as better than Empire and Healthfirst?
Furthermore, are you sure you're not confusing the Medicaid Managed Care (and EP) plans with the Qualified Health Plans from the NY State of Health marketplace?
2 theories as to why the frum community has mainly UHC: First the cynical reason
1. The majority of the frum community unlikely choose anything they are chosen by the whichever organization the individual uses to "make" his medicaid which usually receives a commission for signing up the patient and I'm assuming United health care pays the highest commission and that is why they are chosen by the organization.
More practical reasoning:
2. It could be back in the day when medicaid was farmed out to the various mentioned companies and you had to sign up with an HMO, probably UHC had a strong drive to sign up the community and their reps went to the heimishe doctors to try to get the patients to sign up with them and with minhag avosaynu biyadainu they continued to sign up with UHC. In Rockland county for example the majority of the frum community is signed up with fidelis even though there are many other free plans including UHC, because of similar reasons that fidelis had a strong signing up drive with the heimishe community.
Other examples include in the north brooklyn (williamsburg) health first and metroplus is very strong in the latin american and africam american community and a good number of heimishe have healthfirst as well, but UHC is probably the lowest represented in that section of brooklyn. Its all dependent on their member sign up drives and maybe commissions.
And why would you rate Fidelis as better than Empire and Healthfirst?
Ans: I find fidelis's attitude more generous with their medications and not needing prior auths for everything. The reality is all 3 Fidelis, Empire and Healthfirst are generally equally good some heimishe boro park providers never signed up with healthfirst as they dont have too many members in the boro park community but a much stronger presence in williamsburg.
Example for epipen, with fidelis, patients are given the real epipen or the generic made by MYlan which is practically the same company that makes epipen, with healthfirst you need a PA even with the generic and with empire you only get adrenaclick which is a sorry tuches copy of epipen and confusing to use.
Another example for asthma sufferers there are a variety of inhalers that are allowed to be prescribed. As soon as FDA approved the genereic airduo, UHC dropped all their inhalers in that class and only allows airduo. I have no problems with generics (beggars cant be choosers) but when the company has real shortages of airduo which is a reality now in brooklyn the patients need choices. BTW did I mention doctors hate prior auths.
BTW I dont know if you remember every pharmacy in boro park had a sign "WE STILL ACCEPT UNITED HEALTH CARE" that's because UHC has a knack to randomly throw providers off their network and they threw some local places off. That's usually not issue with the other insurance companies as much as it is with UHC.
Take it from someone in the business You wont go wrong with Fidelis, empire or health first but stay away from UHC.