BCBS of TX?

BritanyV · August 2011

Found out today that DHs company switched from United Health Care to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas yesterday... Hmm Apparently everyone else in the company was notified last month except my dh since he has been in Louisiana working and hasn't been into the office. I only found out because ds has an appt with his dermatologist tomorrow and they called to tell me we had no insurance. Angry

It's been years since I had BCBS and then I think it was an HMO and was through the City of Houston. If you have them, how are they now? We have a PPO.

UHC was always a pain because I had to babysit my claims or they would try to get me to pay stuff that I wasn't supposed to. I'm hoping that this change to BCBS will be for the better.

Thanks in advance for any input!

TexasHarmony · August 2011

1) Way super crappy of them not to notify you. Anytime we've had any sort of insurance change - be it coverage, company, premiums, etc. at any company I have worked for, we were notified via the mail.

2) I've had BCBS. They are fine. I never had a problem getting an appointment or seeing a doctor of my choice. It's been a few years though.

PAGAS · August 2011

I have BCBS, no issues with them.

kreeper611 · August 2011

We have BCBS. DH has had it for years (like almost 10), DS has been on it since he was born and I joined last year when I changed jobs. I prefer it over what I used to have - Cigna and then Aetna.

The only thing I make sure of is to know what hospitals are in-network. The newer on on 290 at Huffmeister is not, so we've made a point to tell family members to take DS to Cy-Fair if they ever need to.

BritanyV · August 2011

kreeper611:
We have BCBS. DH has had it for years (like almost 10), DS has been on it since he was born and I joined last year when I changed jobs. I prefer it over what I used to have - Cigna and then Aetna.

The only thing I make sure of is to know what hospitals are in-network. The newer on on 290 at Huffmeister is not, so we've made a point to tell family members to take DS to Cy-Fair if they ever need to.

I've heard all sorts of things about that hospital. Something about them being doctor owned and they don't really accept insurance but gives discounts or something. I don't know, I went once for an ultrasound of the veins in my legs (dr was checking for a clot) and never received a bill from them and I had UHC at the time. So I'm not sure how accurate the stuff I have heard about that hospital is. lol

They are currently updating their system so we still don't have access to the BCBSTX online. As soon as we do, I'll be checking out what hospitals and etc and calling them to ask some more questions.

With UHC we could only go to Lab Corp for labs or they wouldn't cover it. I need to see if BCBS has any stipulations on things like that.

kreeper611 · August 2011

BritanyV:
kreeper611:

We have BCBS. DH has had it for years (like almost 10), DS has been on it since he was born and I joined last year when I changed jobs. I prefer it over what I used to have - Cigna and then Aetna.

The only thing I make sure of is to know what hospitals are in-network. The newer on on 290 at Huffmeister is not, so we've made a point to tell family members to take DS to Cy-Fair if they ever need to.

I've heard all sorts of things about that hospital. Something about them being doctor owned and they don't really accept insurance but gives discounts or something. I don't know, I went once for an ultrasound of the veins in my legs (dr was checking for a clot) and never received a bill from them and I had UHC at the time. So I'm not sure how accurate the stuff I have heard about that hospital is. lol

They are currently updating their system so we still don't have access to the BCBSTX online. As soon as we do, I'll be checking out what hospitals and etc and calling them to ask some more questions.

With UHC we could only go to Lab Corp for labs or they wouldn't cover it. I need to see if BCBS has any stipulations on things like that.

I don't know...DH has never really had to pick and choose where he had testing done. I did with Cigna, but never had any labs done with Aetna so I can't comment. Overall, I've always been happier with DHs coverage than mine.

odear · August 2011

I have BCBS for the first time this year and it has been fine. Over $150K in medical bills from me and DD before/after she was born and I am only having issues with 1 claim (of course, whatever surgery group was involved with my c-section was out of network. You know, because that is what I think to ask during a semi-emergency c-section).

The whole process is going way better than I thought it would!

FutureMrsJW · August 2011

We switched back in April and so far no problems. We can use both Quest and LabCorp for blood work. The service reps have been wonderful so far. I've done a lot of calling in and asking about coverage benefits for our IF testing. They've been really helpful and I'm glad I did, because St. Luke's was going to charge my HSG toward my deductible. I was able to tell St. Luke's to re-verify and it saved me $400 last week.

step2mom2010 · August 2011

We have BCBS-TX and I have had them for 7 years now. Haven't had any issues. With our company through BCBS-TX we have a bunch of different perks. Make sure to get with the "nurse" that they assign to your group and ask what benefits they have. We get discounts on gym memberships, and other perks that I cannot think of right now, but that was a biggest one in my mind!

We have had many different claims and I just had a LO last year. There are MANY doctors in the network. And if you have a PPO it is even better. You get to go to who you want and do not need a referral.

Trixie12 · August 2011

kreeper611:
BritanyV:
kreeper611:

We have BCBS. DH has had it for years (like almost 10), DS has been on it since he was born and I joined last year when I changed jobs. I prefer it over what I used to have - Cigna and then Aetna.

The only thing I make sure of is to know what hospitals are in-network. The newer on on 290 at Huffmeister is not, so we've made a point to tell family members to take DS to Cy-Fair if they ever need to.

I've heard all sorts of things about that hospital. Something about them being doctor owned and they don't really accept insurance but gives discounts or something. I don't know, I went once for an ultrasound of the veins in my legs (dr was checking for a clot) and never received a bill from them and I had UHC at the time. So I'm not sure how accurate the stuff I have heard about that hospital is. lol

They are currently updating their system so we still don't have access to the BCBSTX online. As soon as we do, I'll be checking out what hospitals and etc and calling them to ask some more questions.

With UHC we could only go to Lab Corp for labs or they wouldn't cover it. I need to see if BCBS has any stipulations on things like that.

I don't know...DH has never really had to pick and choose where he had testing done. I did with Cigna, but never had any labs done with Aetna so I can't comment. Overall, I've always been happier with DHs coverage than mine.

I'm pretty sure North Cypress is contracted with BCBS now. We received an advertisement in the mail notifying us they are now contracted. We have BCBS and my husband will be having surgery there in the next few weeks. In the past, even though they weren't contracted, they would treat you as in-network, meaning they would not come after you for your out-of-network responsibility.

ala_1220 · August 2011

It also just depends on what your employers covers too. If they are doing it to save money, they could have cut some of your benefits.

TCH changed our insurance from Aetna to BCBS this past year. I think they lied when they said it would be "comparable", but they were doing it because BCBS was a little cheaper that Aetna. I have the HMO (or EPO). Last year I didn't pay for any lab work...now I pay between $25-50 per lab draw. Last year a procedure's co-pay was $150...this year it's $500.

As someone who talks to all kinds of different insurance companies to get authorizations for procedures and medications, again it just depends on what your company will cover. The same people could have BCBS, but if one company covers more, then they will get more and pay less (but may have to pay more for the policy).

Good luck with the new insurance. That sucks you have to change in the middle of your pregnancy.

BritanyV · August 2011

ala_1220:
It also just depends on what your employers covers too. If they are doing it to save money, they could have cut some of your benefits.

TCH changed our insurance from Aetna to BCBS this past year. I think they lied when they said it would be "comparable", but they were doing it because BCBS was a little cheaper that Aetna. I have the HMO (or EPO). Last year I didn't pay for any lab work...now I pay between $25-50 per lab draw. Last year a procedure's co-pay was $150...this year it's $500.

As someone who talks to all kinds of different insurance companies to get authorizations for procedures and medications, again it just depends on what your company will cover. The same people could have BCBS, but if one company covers more, then they will get more and pay less (but may have to pay more for the policy).

Good luck with the new insurance. That sucks you have to change in the middle of your pregnancy.

The coverage is supposed to be exactly the same and at the same price as last year with UHC. I guess UHC was going up again and BCBS was a better choice than raising rates again.

I went pick up the benefits package they hand out and so far it looks like all the co-pays, deductibles, etc are the same as when we were on UHC. I just hope this is a smooth transaction for everything else and that we really do get the same coverage!

ala_1220 · August 2011

BritanyV:
ala_1220:

It also just depends on what your employers covers too. If they are doing it to save money, they could have cut some of your benefits.

TCH changed our insurance from Aetna to BCBS this past year. I think they lied when they said it would be "comparable", but they were doing it because BCBS was a little cheaper that Aetna. I have the HMO (or EPO). Last year I didn't pay for any lab work...now I pay between $25-50 per lab draw. Last year a procedure's co-pay was $150...this year it's $500.

As someone who talks to all kinds of different insurance companies to get authorizations for procedures and medications, again it just depends on what your company will cover. The same people could have BCBS, but if one company covers more, then they will get more and pay less (but may have to pay more for the policy).

Good luck with the new insurance. That sucks you have to change in the middle of your pregnancy.

The coverage is supposed to be exactly the same and at the same price as last year with UHC. I guess UHC was going up again and BCBS was a better choice than raising rates again.

I went pick up the benefits package they hand out and so far it looks like all the co-pays, deductibles, etc are the same as when we were on UHC. I just hope this is a smooth transaction for everything else and that we really do get the same coverage!

That's good news. I wish TCH had stuck to their same plan.

IMO, BCBS is easier to deal with than UHC.

BCBS of TX?

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