Buying Indv. Health Insurance on the open Market - which company? (HSA, plan)

[Brookside]

Losing health coverage (qualified event) in one month. Existing provider does not offer individual plans, so I need to buy a plan on the open market.

I want a PPO (not an HMO) and the big companies for this seem to be Anthem BC, Kaiser, Cigna, Blue Shield.

I would appreciate any advice/input/personal experience on these companies. The costs (which are all about the same) are not as important to me as things like how easy (or hard) claims are to submit, customer service, etc., doctors accepting new patients, etc.

Thanks!

[nightlysparrow]

Kaiser is an HMO, not a PPO.

[Brookside]

Thanks - consider them removed from the list!

That leaves Anthem BC, Blue Shield and Cigna. Would appreciate any info/personal experience on these companies.

[goodheathen]

Anthem Blue Cross and CA Blue Shield are accepted by most doctors. I think the former has lousy customer service, and what the latter provides is downright bad.

[Brookside]

Originally Posted by goodheathen

Anthem Blue Cross and CA Blue Shield are accepted by most doctors. I think the former has lousy customer service, and what the latter provides is downright bad.

Can you expand on this? I understand lousy CS - but BC's plans are downright confusing. What do you mean by Blue Shield being "bad" ...? Do you have any examples?

[CA4Now]

See an insurance broker; they do not charge the purchaser a fee.

[goodheathen]

I was referring to Blue Shield's ridiculous phone wait times and strange handling of out-of-network claims.

[Brookside]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

See an insurance broker; they do not charge the purchaser a fee.

Good idea, I've been going the all-internet route. Any recommendations for a broker?

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Brookside

Good idea, I've been going the all-internet route. Any recommendations for a broker?

Look for a broker in your suburban area, since you'll want to meet him/her in person. The best route is to ask friends/coworkers/neighbors for a recommendation. Otherwise, insurance companies or individual brokers advertise on the Internet, in print media or the phone book, and they may represent other types of insurance (home, auto, etc).

[NSHL10]

You need to shop locally via a broker. In NY BCBS individual plans are narrow network HMOs. Insurance companies had to tailor their plans to the individual state's wishes. In NY The Dept of Insurance pushed for HMOs, disallowed reenrollment into grandfathered plans, and little HSA compatibility as their goal was to get people enrolled into the marketplace plans. They did this by implementing changes like narrow networks and gimmicks to eliminate HSA compatibility to get policies to the cheapest price available, even though it might not be the best or most appropriate plan.
It was all about cosmetics, not necessarily what was best for the consumer.

You need a broker to represent YOUR interests/needs.