Health insurance is consistently one of the most important choices that an American can make. With prices rising sky-high in 2016, the need for affordable, reliable, and trustworthy healthcare has never been higher. This very same need which has prompted hundreds of social and political movements both for and against different healthcare structures has led to an increased public spotlight on healthcare. Many Americans wonder about the nature of their own healthcare providers.

In an attempt to fill up an increasingly available and versatile seller’s market, many insurance companies have sprung up in the past few years. These companies offer a wide range of plans, prices, and customer relations practices. Thus, it would be unbefitting of any review guide to place the focus on any other than these three areas when surveying an insurance company’s place in the market of 2016.

Maryland healthcare often follows the same path. Rife with viable companies offering various plans and opportunities to potential clients, it often becomes difficult for consumers to discern the fact from the fiction, the good from the bad, in the mad world of the insurance game.

Of Maryland insurance providers, there exist few organizations which have gotten the amount of attention and publicity allotted to Evergreen Healthcare. This guide seeks to evaluate the claims made by Evergreen. In examining their goals, reviews, and their performance as a company, consumers can begin to get an idea on the true nature of Maryland’s newest player in the game.

Evergreen Health: A Noble Goal

The first step in understanding the nature of an insurance company is to examine the claims they make. Like many companies in the insurance field, the commitment of Evergreen to their customers extends to three primary areas. They state on the front page of their website, in big letters, that Evergreen operates with the goal of “bringing smart, honest, affordable high quality health insurance to Maryland.”

First, Evergreen Health puts forth a kind of business plan and comprehensive policy which is poised to “put people first.” With the goal of creating new policies and plans that should make a better experience for their customers, Evergreen has listed on their own site several of the ways they seek to provide a fairer, more honest, and more equitable health insurance experience for all those who give them the chance. Though the validity of the company’s claims when it comes to their smart and honest healthcare may be up for debate, the company certainly represents a noble goal in the industry of insurance.

Another way that Evergreen tries to promote their image as a more ‘fair’ healthcare provider comes in the form of a unique voting system. Once a year, every member of the healthcare company (18 or older) is allotted a single vote, cast in favor of a new representative to the board of directors. This revolutionary system of representation is certainly a somewhat new concept in the industry. While the voting percentages and participation rates for the insurance company’s annual elections are likely relatively low, the mere existence of such a system helps to reinforce an image that the company is working hard to maintain.

The affordability of healthcare has been an issue of much ado in recent years. Specifically in 2016, talks of a centralized and nationalized healthcare system have prompted an almost universal interest of the public in more affordable options. Evergreen Health Insurance, attempting to tap into this market interest and marketing potential, heavily emphasizes their competitive prices all over their online presence. While the actual values offered by Evergreen may not be as important as they say, the insurance company certainly has tried to emphasize their affordability.

Finally, this brings us to the quality of insurance. In this area, the company offers few direct appeals to their competitiveness. Instead choosing to prioritize overarching statements and customer service on their site, some would argue that the strategy employed by the insurance powerhouse of Maryland mirrors that which they would expect from a legitimized insurance provider.

It is clear that Evergreen Health Insurance offers a lot to citizens of Maryland. The company makes a lot of claims. Like most insurance organizations, the company appeals to their affordability, customer service, and fairness in order to effectively convert an increasingly value-oriented client-base to their way of thinking, and into their organization.

A Mixed Reaction

Though the company purports to offer their clientele smart, fair, and affordable insurance which emphasizes customer service, many of the company’s recent customers have an entire different story to tell.

In fact, many former clients of the major healthcare provider attribute several negative customer service fowl-ups to their view that the company is all talk, with very little show. The main aspects of any insurance company seem to be failing this Maryland-based organization. While there still exist serious fans of the company and what it has to offer its constituents, there are many more reviewers who see it as a company all too similar to the ones they sought to avoid.

Reviews from the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland give the business a staunch ‘F.’ Comprised of nine reviews/complaints from former customers, the average rating given to the business is a 1/5. Reporting on awful customer service, terrible coverage, and fluctuating prices and management contribute to a largely-negative review of the new insurance corporation.

Yelp does not offer much more in the light of positive reviews. Four reviews from former customers yield the company a 2/5 with the leading review corporation.

There is hope, however, for some facets of the organization. Its reviews by employees are primarily positive.

Evergreen Health Conclusion

The reviews are in, and the prospects for Evergreen are not positive. Consumers have found that the company often fails to uphold the very values they seek to uphold.

Like many healthcare-based organizations in the United States, Evergreen of Maryland seeks to appeal to consumers by offering stellar customer service, dependable, efficient healthcare, all wrapped in an affordable package.

However, preliminary reviews find that the organization, again much like its contemporaries, fails to live up to its self-created hype. Failings in customer service, fluctuating intrinsic policies, and a lack of consistency inside and outside mean that, at least for consumers, Evergreen is not the best option.