BlueCross BlueShield

We have used Blue Cross Blue Shield for our health insurance needs for many years. We have never had an issue with claims. We love that the company now offers an app, with instant and easy access to our account. With few exceptions, we have felt that the coverage is good, with good options and choices for providers.

We've had BlueCross BlueShield in the past. They were easy to work when we had a baby at the hospital and we had lots of hospital bills to go through. They were accepted at any of our local hospitals in Utah, where we live. We've had other insurance companies where we'd have to go to a specific hospital or Dr's office because our insurance wouldn't be accepted. But, with BCBS it seems almost anyone accepted them. That was the biggest plus in being their costumer.

I have been insured with this company for a long time. They have exceeded my expectations for health insurance. Great experience all around. They don't keep you on hold for 30 minutes like other insurance companies. Well lead company in my opinion.

We have federal BCBS and it is the best. The customer service reps are always so helpful and knowledgeable. I call them all the time for referrals and they are great at explaining my medical bills. It's so easy to get pre-approval for procedures, when needed. Would never use anyone else.

Great customer service with BCBS. I really appreciate how their website give tips on how to save money and find doctors and services in network. They always send prompt billing breakdowns so you know exactly how much was charged, how much they paid, and how much you owe.

I had a mammogram which should have been covered under Obamacare but wasn't. I had to pay out of pocket $195.74. I called 2 times. On the first call, I was told it was covered, but this last time I called I was told it wasn't it was considered preventive. I was on the phone for an hour and when I asked to speak to a manager I was told they'll call me back in 48 hours. How does Bluecross not have a manager available?!? They also didn't cover my ultrasound because they claim it's preventive. My mammogram did not pick up a lump they found during the ultrasound. One would think Buecross would want to cover this because it will cost them more if I get breast cancer(which runs in my family and I've had lumps) or die. Then they would get no money!! I AM SO ANGRY because I know for a fact that Obamacare covers 100% of a mammogram...GUESS JUST NOT WITH BLUECROSS!! The fact that I called and had 2 different answers and that they are plain out denying coverage is so wrong!

I had a non-work related back injury that required 36 visits to a chiropractor. They only covered a handful of visits and stuck me with several thousands of dollars in bills. The chiropractor was very upfront about this even before the first session and I tried to talk to my HR, a Bluecross representative that was actually on site, as well as on the phone, and they would not do anything for me. This was months ago. The reason I'm writing this now is because they just had me call them to ask me a few questions. At first, I thought they actually reviewed the situation and were going to do the right thing. But as it turns out, they were actually calling to find out if I had any plans of hiring an attorney. They were concerned that I was suing. Really puts into perspective where their priority lies.

When a doctor recommends a procedure, such as an ultrasound, based on his assessments upon a patient's visit, that procedure should be approved immediately by BCBS, and not sent to a third party that doesn't know the patient. It is an absurd for this third party to ask the doctor to call and explain the need of such procedure, as if doctors had nothing better to do with their time. Imagine if a doctor is to call a third party every time he recommends a procedure...he would not have time to do anything else. If the doctor is part of the BCBS network, it should be approved without any questions. I pay A LOT monthly for my health insurance, and expect to receive a good service in return.

I manually paid my monthly premium (over $300) 2 days before the end of the month and got an email confirming this payment. On the 6th of the month they withdrew the payment AGAIN from my bank account causing me to overdraft and they did not even send an email confirming this. They are refusing to refund me saying that is has now been applied to my November payment saying the money is just gone, and they are refusing to cover my $40 overdraft fee. Don’t get me started on what my $300+ monthly premium DOESN’T cover in the first place. It covered my well-woman exam and labs (which came to $200 total-so less than a monthly payment itself) but no specialized doctors visits or prescriptions. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I told them I was sick of talking to them and cancel my membership as of December. I’ll be finding new insurance.

The wait time to speak with a representative is ridiculous. I verify insurances for my job all day. To have to sit and wait to speak to someone for 30 minutes to 2 hours, is time consuming, frustrating and exhausting. When I do speak with someone, the call last no more than 5 minutes. I just don't understand it. If my company had someone on hold for 30 minutes let alone 10, some one is going to have to answer for that. I wish I worked for a company like BC, I'd get to sit and watch the blinking light and ignore it for as long as I choose with no repercussion. I'll have to call BC again about 3 more times today. Your self help doesn't work for me. I have daily conversations with mothers about how they're one month old is added to their policy when it's showing on the Blue Cross website they aren't. So I have no choice but to wait to speak with someone to verify this before I tell mom she has to pay out of pocket for her visit. Our Blue Cross ins plan also suck but that's a rant for another time. Please do better Blue Cross.

This is absolutely the worst insurance we have ever had! It is like owning fake insurance! I have a card but absolutely no care, coverage or customer service. I called to get an estimate on cost of services - 15 hours later I still do not have an answer. the call was forwarded overseas, it took over 45 minutes of being on hold, the customer care person kept dropping the call and not calling back, when I asked for basic estimate for cost of a particular service they put me on hold for another 45 minutes, told me they’d call me back abd never did, then called back asked to speak to a supervisor and was told supervisors were in a meeting and unavailable, after several days of this I called their bluff and the “supervisor” told me that costs estimates were confidential and could only be released to providers, had my provider call and they were told that costs were confidential and could only be released to memebers… no one cared that I had an emergency and couldn’t get care because I had no idea of costs and I still don’t have an answer!

My daughter was diagnosed with an eating disorder last year. She went to an eating disorder recovery center and had all her tests done and also spoke to the psychologists there. When the recovery center reached out to the insurance company to get her stay approved, the insurance company denied it saying that they will not pay for inpatient. The insurance company said they would be willing to pay for a PHP. My daughter tried that, but she was not ready to step down. We finally brought her home and got a dietitian and a counselor to work with her. After working with her, both her dietitian and counselor wrote to the insurance company recommending that she needs a higher level of care. We got all the medical tests done and again insurance denied her in patient. The branch of Blue Cross that deals with mental health is New Directions. I don’t know how any one who has not spoken to the patient and only looks at the medical results can deny in patient; especially if her counselor and dietitian who have worked with her on a weekly basis recommend that my daughter needed a higher level of care. New Directions is in the business of helping patients with mental health issues get better but I strongly feel they are in the business of only making money and torturing the patient and their families. Twice New Directions has denied in patient for my daughter who is so anxious about food that some days she only has 800 calories. This year, we tried getting an eating disorder psychologist to work with my daughter. Again, I reached out to New Directions under the advice of Blue Cross. In the Denver area, they could not find any psychologist who was accepting new patients. New Directions gave us the name of a psychologist but when we reached out to her, she said that she was not up to date with the latest techniques. We found a psychologist who was not in network. We asked if insurance would pay because there was no one in network who was accepting new patients and again they denied it. They said there are male eating disorder psychologists who can see her. My daughter does not feel comfortable with a male. New Directions is one of the worst companies I have had the misfortune of dealing with. They do not want to help in any way. All they want is to make money, and put the patient in mental anguish. Blue Cross needs to look at New Directions policies and how they treat the client. They do not respond at all. I had filled out a grievance form and I did not hear back from them even though the email said I should hear back from them within 30 days. If you or your family has any mental issues like my daughter, I would not recommend Blue Cross because of New Directions. No one at New Directions cares about mental health. They will try to stall you and make it your problem. Dealing with New Directions and Blue Cross is a nightmare. I don’t know why we are paying such a high premium to the insurance company. Customer service is absolutely horrible!

I desperately need a surgery. Nothing else has worked. I am 19 years old and I already need weekly infusions and had to withdraw from my first semester from college. BlueCross and BlueShield has refused to cover the surgery. My nurses have talked on the phone for hours, I have tried to appeal, and yet nothing. The fax number for the appeal didn't even work so we had to mail it. They claim the surgery is 'experimental' though it is new the statistics show higher success rates then the only other highly invasive possible surgeries that are unlikely to help me. I don't understand. Insurance will do as much as they can but when all else fails they won't let you try something you desperately need and decide just to let you suffer the rest of your life. I am struggling because I don't see a future.

BCBS used to be pretty good but the last couple of years have gone way down hill. I have been trying for over 6 months to get 1 issue resolved but each person I talk to has a different answer, talks in circles, passes to someone else, etc. If you call, you'll be on the phone for hours & if you email, you are lucky if someone responds in 1 week. But even then, you get a long scripted response that doesn't answer your question(s). You might get someone who knows what they are doing about every 6 mo. to a year if you are lucky. Extremely disappointed in how this company has deteriorated & wonder how much of it is deliberate to keep money in their pockets instead of providing decent health coverage. I'd give a negative rating if I could.

I had alot of issues with my plan and policy and lucky I got Celestina for my agent when I called in with my problem. She was so present and so helpful, Everytime she put me on hold even if they had not got back to her with the answer she needed she made sure I was not on hold listening to that God awful music over a min or two at the least. Celestina keep me updated at every turn and gave me options on how to get my problems fixed. The company itself pre approved me for two doctors after the 6th session they then wanted to tell me that it wasn't in my plan to go to that therpist after now I have created that relationship and that bond and can't and refuse to start over with a new therpist. Shout out to Celestine for making a bad situation better with her upbeat attitude and pacients ears listening to my story and problems as I cried lol. You are amazing and to good for a company that messed with people's lives.

Dental plan is terrible, hard to get care due to limited dentists accepting insurance. Deserves a zero for charging me double the price for “late fees” after I canceled my Membership THREE times . Still fighting to cancel this membership months later and get them to stop charging me every month. Not even asking for a reimbursement just want it canceled and to stop being charged. Took my account and credit card info off the account, changed my credit card and they are STILL somehow able to charge me. I truly don’t understand how. Absolutely criminal and frustrating, have wasted so much time trying to cancel this insurance. Do not bother signing up in the first place, just a nightmare in the end.

nothing but good experiences. They reduced my rate during the pandemic without my asking. They have covered everything I have asked them to cover. I think they're great!!!

I feel free to manage my health with my doctors. I do not like to be forced into stupid things like writing a review that must be at least 50 characters.

I love it everything I need is covered. The claims are handled quickly and my providers are great. My premium is low and I have no complaints whatsoever.

I became extremely Ill a few weeks ago and thought that I may have contracted the Coronavirus as this virus's symptoms run a close parallel to Ifluenzas A and B and my symptoms, for the most part, were within the parameter of the virus so therefore, I contacted the only medical people I could due to the time I called which was our local hospital and gave them a description of my symptoms. I was told that I would have to either wait a couple of days before I could get tested by going to their drive through testing stations or going into the hospital, to their ER and check in there. My wife called her supervisor and told him what was going on and he ordered her to stay home from work and go into Self quarantine, which she did. At that time, I decided to go on into the hopital's ER check in station to get tested. When I the doctor and nurse finished their testing, I was told to go home and remain in self quarantine until the test results came in. I was in quarantine for 2 days until I received a telephone call from the hospital, telling me that the results came back Negative and that I more than likely had Influenza but they did not tell me which one I had. I had to figure that one out on my own which wound up being the A strain which was, by far, worse than the B strain. Approximately 3 weeks later, I received the bill that the hospital turned into BCBS and just the other day, I received the results from BCBS and when I looked at the final bill, I was very glad that I was sitting down!! BCBS didn't cover a single penny of the bill which is $1450.00 for the test!! Good God, this bill for this amount for sticking a cotton swap up my nose, twice in each side that made it feel like they were going to scrape the back side of my eyeballs, did a quick scan of my chest and take a few vitals?? The whole test concluded within a 5 minute period and I had to lay around in the ER room for about an hour, doing Nothing, seeing NO ONE and that room cost $987.00 per hour, or so it appears to be the going price?? BCBS is the worst insurance provider I have ever seen or had in my entire life and just as soon as I find another provider, I am going to tell them where they can get off!!! And I don't plan on being very nice about it either!! I have had it with those people, their bad habit of Ripping off those who are under their insurance plans!! And, I also have to thank the Steel Worker's Union for their Arrogant Stupidity and Ignorance when it comes t dealing with contracts that effect their members and all other employees. They couldn't negotiate with a freaking MORON!!!

Went to the doctor yesterday to get treatment for something. My doctor wrote me a prescription and I dropped it off at the pharmacy. Later I get a message from the pharmacy that my insurance doesn't cover that brand and has a preferred brand. Now the doctor is out and I can't get the brand changed. It's already been over 24 hours since I sought treatment and got the prescription I need. Now that the doctor is out, I can pay out of pocket for my prescription when I already pay these jerks 700 a month or my treatment will be delayed for days or weeks until I need surgery to fix something that could have been stopped in a couple days all because Blue Cross has a preferred brand. This company sucks, always has.

I've had this health insurance since I became a federal employee in 1984. I've had no issues, problems of any kind, or payment disputes with this company.

Been with Blue Cross with my employer for over 10 yrs. Never had an issue with coverage. My children’s deliveries along with minor surgeries were covered with no issues.

There is so much red tape involved in accessing my benefits, it's easier to pay cash out of pocket than deal with these crooks. They won't send a bill, statement of benefits or ID card until they receive the first payment. So basically you'll pay for the first month, but still not have access to your benefits. Here is the phone call I had w a BS/BC rep just now. "Me: Hi, I haven't received a bill or an ID card or description of my benefits and my insurance is being denied by doctors I need to see." BS: "Well we can't send you a bill until we receive your first payment." Stupid me, I send them $540 a month and still can not use my medical insurance...what exactly am I paying for???? Grrrr

I was told that because im HMO, if i go on vacation they wont pay any medical unless life threatening. My son had blood in urine which scared him while on vacation and his claim was denied at urgent care because it wasnt life threatening

We have had BCBS for four years. My husband is a UPS employee with a “Cadillac” top of the line plan, and it sucks!! They nickel and dime you for everything. Pray that you don’t need an ambulance or anything out of network. They say it’s covered at whatever the reasonable going rate is for the area, but it’s not. They’ll only pay about half of what your billed, even if every ambulance provider in your area charges the same price or more. Well visits are supposed to be covered at 100%, but again, they NEVER are. Expect a bill for some of it. Crooked company. I wish UPS would go back to Atnea.

The insurance is really good (10 years). However, if you are looking for customer service, you will always be frustrated. After waiting on hold for 1 hour plus, I was transferred to wait again. Only to receive another phone number to contact for my answer.

Very poor customer service and lack of transparency. Representatives are not versed thoroughly in company policies. I received conflicting information after speaking to three different representatives all in the same day. After conferencing in with the Healthcare Marketplace and Blue Cross twice and being promised a specific dollar amount premium considering our tax credit. Blue Cross continued to bill us for a much higher premium ($88 more). I continued to call them for several weeks to try to understand why this was the case. However, they continued to insist we had not paid our previous balances in full and therefore had incurred a balance of $272. After being on the phone with them for an hour (each time, over the course of different dates) they were still unable to explain from which dates we owed them a balance. Especially since I had payment information proving we had paid the premium we had been billed for in full for each of those months. Very disappointed with the lack of thoroughness and being put in the position to be forced to justify we were up to date on all of our previous bills. Such an expensive and large company should keep better billing records. This case is still pending and we have yet to receive a resolution. Needless to say I do not recommend this company!

The company I worked for used BCBS as the plan administrator. The company was self insured. Far too many times claims were denied by BCBS that were allowed by the previous administrators. Example: My doctor and I read the report after the peer-to-peer was denied (final step of appeal) and couldn't believe what we read. BCBS found a doctor in their BCBS Florida network to write that a RFA would be unsuccessful if the back was fused at any location. My wife's back is fused L4-S1 and the RFA was at the T5-7 area. We worked a payment with the doctor, but considering the RFA was so successful my wife stopped her Oxys, it was worth it. Now that we're Medicare, which covers RFAs, we will never use BCBS for a Medigap policy. RFA, Radio Frequency Ablation, is a procedure where a probe inserted in the spine zaps a nerve to "numb" it, lasts about 18-months. Doctor claims are around $2200, of which insurance allows about $800. Maybe if insurance companies paid for procedures like this fewer people would be on pain pills.

My husband and I have been fighting with blue Cross and blue shield for a while now. My husband and I have been seeing a doctor for about a year now and we have gone in for different appointments and procedures and everything had been fine and covered until June when my husband had a procedure scheduled. We called ahead to Blue Cross to get preauthorized for my husband's procedure, before calling Blue Cross we talked to our doctors billing department and they gave us the billing codes which we then gave to Blue Cross. When we called, the representative from Blue Cross stated that the procedure was covered and we asked if there was anything else we needed to do which he stated No, everything was covered. A few weeks after the procedure we found out that Blue Cross denied the charges stating we did not have a referral, we explained that when we called there was no mention of a referral and we had not needed one for any of the prior visits or procedures. We had a referral submitted and Blue Cross responded with, too much time had passed and so they are denying the claim. In an attempt to file an appeal we contacted Blue Cross and asked for transcripts and any other supporting documentation involved with this particular claim. They explained to us that we would have to submit a written request and we would have to pay them $40 for the information we are requesting.

Well every time I have to call this guys First for start the people how answer the phone You can ask for some information about your company And they never know nothing about They always tell you Your company that’s not have that program They take to long to answer the phone and when that happen you will end up with to much frustration Because of their job Secondly and list importan They take to long to aprove something

I purchased COBRA coverage between job changes for a month. BCBS rescinded all of my prior authorizations for medication, and then, they drug their feet approving the medications again so that I couldn’t get them on time and fill them the two times I should have been able to under my paid insurance plan. Really crappy thing to do when people need their medications and pay for insurance for that purpose. Worst part-I will still have the same coverage at my new job. BCBS jerks.

Specifically took an out of network eligible plan so that I could have a wide variety of doctors to choose from. They had a higher deductible and out of pocket. Both aspects I was aware of when i signed up. Found a out of network doctor who fit my needs. All good. Paid him up front and then went to BCBS for reimbursement. This is where things go downhill. BCBS has "approved" rates for each ICD code. They were half of what the doc actually charged. Their argument - "this is what we think this code should be charged at in your area". Now the kicker, they would only take half of what I paid even towards my deductible and out of pocket calculations. Now i am stuck with a massive bill while having chosen from the terms clearly laid out upfront. Was this "approved rate" mentioned upfront - NO Did they already compensate themselves with a higher deductible for going out of network - YES Was this in their fine print which you would find after 3 hours of looking at 8 levels deep on their site - YES So why are they double compensating their bottom line? If you have an approved rate, then just have an open network with no concept of in or out of network. It's the profit gouging practices like this which will make me hate each and every executive in BCBS. You lost a customer. Not that it matters to you. I really hope the BCBS executives experience being middle class and being hit with a surprise medical bill that is a result of profit gouging through shady practices.

This is an extremely lousy and deceptive insurance company that I would strongly not recommend. They sent me a letter offering greater coverage if I provided them data via a form. Once I did so, with zero mention in the letter, there was a surprise mandatory health clinic visit required where they wanted to take my blood and perform tests. When I told them I didn't want to proceed with the health clinic visit that was not at all mentioned in the letter, I requested that they delete my data I had provided them through the form and at first they refused to do so. It took several weeks of calls with Blue Cross, educating them on PIPEDA (our privacy laws) that they were knowingly and willingly violating to finally delete this data. Weeks later I became locked out of my account and had to call them and they let me know they "accidentally" deleted my account and had me re-create my account, wasting a lot of time because of their incompetency and unwillingness to follow our laws.

I am looking for an alternative at this point. The premiums are ridiculous, the out of pocket maximums are unbelievable, and the billing service people don't have a clue about billing. I pay over $1300 a month for 2 people in their 40's. Our family out of pocket is almost $16,000. In March, I happened to log in online to look at some claim information and just happened to notice that my policy showed cancelled. I panicked because my husband was in the middle of arm surgery / infection treatment, and this was no time to not have insurance. After talking with BCBS billing/customer service for a week, they could not find a single piece of documentation showing who requested or why our policy had been cancelled. If I had not happened to log in that day and bring the situation to their attention, chances are they would not have paid the upcoming claims from our doctors and hospitals. Then 3 months later, I get an email stating my monthly draft is changing from $1300 to $2157. Again, I've not requested any changes to my plan. After the billing person threw out 4 different reasons for this, none of which made any sense at all, she finally put me on hold for about 20 minutes, and then said there is some discrepancy from 2016 in which we owe $800. And now she has to escalate it because she can't do anything about it. Another week of dealing with incompetent people. Not to mention all the stuff that isn't covered even though I have their most expensive plan. I am going broke on just a couple of arm surgeries.