Blue Cross Blue Shield

As health insurance goes, these days, Blue Cross Blue Shield is as good as it gets. Other the years I've had many plans. In the old days (10+ years ago) all of my Health insurance companies were great. In the past 10 years, only Blue Cross Blue Shield comes close to the coverage of days gone by. They have a great network of providers, cover most things, and while there is still an occasional frustrating insurance issue, it's not a total nightmare, just a routine pain. Hoping our pretty good coverage stays as it does with the changes in national health care.

BCBS provides a good plan. Co-pays are $15 in our plan, not a minimum but not excessive, and we can choose pretty much any provider we want. Have not had any problems with providers getting paid and have not been asked to pay for any of the care for the many years we have had BCBS insurance.

The process went fine, though since I've been with BCBS (over 7 years), my premiums have gone up and my coverage has gotten worse, so I'm now paying more for poorer coverage. In particularly, my deductible has significantly increased, and will go up again next year, and the payments for out of network providers have gotten worse. I used to pay $10/visit to see my chiropractor, I now pay over $35/visit. I don't mind paying more, I understand costs have gone up; put paying more to get less irks me.

Did not go well lack of communication and trouble with billing

BCBSMA is an excellent health plan. I am employed by a large health care organization and we have a PPO option that allows us to see specialists without a referral, and lower copays for using our own network of physicians. I have never had to go outside the network, so the cost is very reasonable, but it's nice to have the option to go outside the network if necessary.

I am fortunate that my employer covers most of the cost, but BCBS is still expensive, as are the co-pays. I have found that their customer service representatives are responsive and friendly, but their phone tree is frustrating, and resolving issues/getting information is always more time consuming than I would like.

I paid the co-pay ($15) and BCBS covered the rest. No hassles.

For a big insurance company BCBS MA is very good. I've always found their member service to be excellent and have had no problem getting treatments paid for. It's an HMO but I don't find it restrictive.
The EoBs are confusing but that's not unique to them. They have promised a new format so maybe they will get easier to read.

My insurance is overpriced and the copays too high. I $20 copay for a sick visit is a deterrent to going to the doctor.

We paid our co-pay for the visit and the medication. The BCBS card is always accepted and we never have any problems.

Blue Cross has excellent service and is a widely inclusive network.

Customer service was - and always has been in my experience - excellent. Though the phone tree can be extensive, once you are on the phone live with someone they are always pleasant and thorough. And if they don't have an answer to your question, they don't try to answer anyway. My customer rep asked to call me back as soon as she found out the info I needed - and she did, very quickly. Impressive considering the size of BCBS. It has not yet been depersonalized.

The bill for the visit to the Travel clinic was submitted to BCBS and was denied. My wife had visited the same Clinic the year before
for the same reason. At that time the claim was paid.
After I called Blue Cross Blue Shield they told me that the hospital had used an incorrect billing code. They said they would call the hospital and ask them to change the billing code. They said they would pay the claim as soon as the code was changed.
The hospital refused to change the code and I have appealed the denial of payment by the insurance company. It seems that Blue Cross Blue Shield and the hospital are more interested in bickering than helping the patient.

So far they have been responsive and helpful.

We have a high deductible plan so it is extremely expensive. I do like the communication I receive from BCBS. It explains my services and coverage. Many are providers are in network for my PPO which also is a positive. Most providers take BCBS

I have BCBS PPO. No referrals needed for specialist, low copays at doctor's offices and pharmacies. There is always a friendly person on the other line when I need help.

Quick, easy form to fill out. Required lots of documentation, but easily acquired. Fast turn-around.

As described above, Blue Cross Blue Shield contacted the medical service provider while I was still on the phone and got the problem resolved. I was amazed at how fast they took care of this.