<p>Yes, I live in one of the areas marked in dark blue (PPO) - there does seem to be a northern vs. southern Calif split, with a lot of overlap in central regions. Not sure what your point is?</p>
<p>If somebody lives in SF and has a Blue Shield PPO plan, is she covered in network in Marin or in an area that is covered by EPO plans?</p>
<p>If I buy an Anthem plan, EPO or PPO in California, I am covered across Anthem’s entire California network. Doesnt matter where I live. There is no out of network coverage with an EPO plan and that is the difference between Anthem’s EPO and PPO plans.</p>
<p>Are you typing using a mobile device? It’s hard for me to follow some of your sentences. As I understand it, my PPO gives me coverage in all areas, including those served by EPO’s – but it might be a moot point on the PPO end of things. It seems that the major urban centers are all served by Blue Shield PPO’s – so the PPO users are not particularly likely to be seeking out-of-region care in the EPO regions.</p>
<p>Ok.</p>
<p>And yes. Sorry. I am using a mobile device and I almost always edit my posts.</p>
<p>You can see the last post is edited.</p>
<p>If I hit the wrong button on the mobile device, I lose the whole post so I do post prematurely at times.</p>
<p>This post should be ok. The last one should be ok.</p>
<p>dstark, you are in luck. All ACA compliant plans must cover premature postulation.</p>
<p>NJres, </p>
<p>LOL!!</p>
<p>“I may be put on hold, but generally the person who answers the line is able to address or deal with whatever question or issue I have.”</p>
<p>LOL - Try calling Blue Shield today! Hold time was around an hour. </p>
<p>Can’t entirely blame the insurance companies for the chaos we are experiencing in the individual market. When you have this many mandates and last minute changes to comply with, it is no wonder why the insurance companies are in almost a complete state of disarray. The ACA has destroyed the individual market. This is probably what the people in the group market will experience in the future.</p>
<p>In the the immortal words of dstark</p>
<p>“It is all going to work out.”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>The difference it that I would be on hold with BS, and then the person who answered my call would be able to answer my question. With Anthem, I would be on hold an equally long time, then the person who answered would ask me several questions for identifying info (like name, date of birth, etc.) and then after I asked my question would tell me that I was being transferred to an “agent” who could answer my question. I would then typically be taken to voice mail, that would tell me to leave my name and number for a call back – which I did – only no one ever called back. So with BS it was worth waiting out the hold time, with Anthem it was just wasted time with no resolution. FWIW, Kaiser also lost my business because of its voice mail system, though I only called once and can’t remember the details. </p>
<p>In just about everything I do I’m willing to pay something extra to companies that provide excellent customer service. I get very frustrated, very quickly, when they don’t. I wouldn’t characterize Blue Shields system as being “excellent” – just barely passable. But my experience with Anthem was a total fail. </p>
<p>I’d also note that with BS, when I didn’t receive a mailed invoice, I was able to call them and pay my binder over the phone. I am hearing anecdotal reports of people having a lot of difficulty with Anthem’s payment system and that Anthem won’t take phoned payments. I am guessing their respective web site payment systems are equally buggy, working for some and not others. But at least with BS I had a workaround. </p>
<p>Covered Cal. just set out an email telling everyone that their payments are due Jan 6. Word is that BS, Anthem, and Healthnet have all extended the deadline to Jan 10. Jan 6, obviously, is a Monday. I am guessing that trying to reach someone in billing at any company over the weekend is going to have its own challenges. So I’d anticipate a lot of confusion and frustrated consumers over the weekend.</p>
<p>I have had to call Kaiser probably 3 or 4 times with billing issues in the past three years. Once was swirching from infividual to group insurance, and a few others for services as a patient. </p>
<p>Each time, short waiting time, helpful customer service agent and problem resilved. </p>
<p>I may have frustrations with Kaiser, but never phone issues of getting things resolved. It is usually easy.</p>
<p>No, the problems with Kaiser come later. lol. They are great on the phone and respond nicely to emails. But getting to the doctor you need when you really need him or her can be a challenge.</p>
<p>True story, actingmt.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Count me as one of those confused customers. And Anthem’s customer service phone is closed for the weekend (unbelievable).</p>
<p>DH has had an Anthem plan for years. Back in September, Anthem sent us a letter saying that the plan was being discontinuing and outlining his options. One of those options was that if he didn’t enroll in a different health plan, they would automatically enroll him in a pricey “suggested” plan.</p>
<p>He enrolled in a different Anthem plan on CoveredCA, before the deadline. We were told to await a bill. It finally arrived yesterday (Jan 2) – an invoice for the “suggested” plan. On the bill is this: “IMPORTANT NOTICE: The premium amount listed on this bill may not reflect plan changes you have recently made. If your selected plan or option is not correct on this bill, you will receive a revised premium invoice.” So just how long am I supposed to wait for the “revised premium invoice”? It’s not like there’s a lot of time between now and the Jan. 6 due date in which to receive it.</p>
<p>calmom, where are you hearing that Anthem might push back the due date to Jan. 10?</p>
<p>LasMa, I heard it when I called Anthem. Prerecorded message. </p>
<p>Anthem should be open tomorrow by phone. </p>
<p>800-333-0912.</p>
<p>Call early. 8:30.</p>
<p>Actually, call that number at 8:00. If you call now, you can hear a prerecorded message stating you can call Saturday.</p>
<p>The message also says the payment due date has been extended to Jan 10.</p>
<p>LasMa – I had similar issues with Blue Shield – getting billed for the “rollover” policy as well as the Covered Cal policy – but as noted was able to resolve that pretty easily with a phone call.</p>
<p>No really good sources on the extension – best I can do for you is Anthem’s twitter feed at <a href=“https://twitter.com/AnthemPR_CA[/url]”>https://twitter.com/AnthemPR_CA</a></p>
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<p>And no, I don’t know why this can’t be posted on the home page of their main web site. Or why they couldn’t have co-ordinated with Covered California to make sure that the email accurately reported the extension.</p>
<p>The 855 number is another good number to call Anthem.</p>
<p>Thanks, folks. Will set my alarm for early tomorrow morning.</p>
<p>Are they taking payments over the phone?</p>
<p>Maybe I will make an estimated payment before jan 10, like with the IRS.</p>
<p>“Maybe I will make an estimated payment before jan 10, like with the IRS.”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Yes. Anthem is taking payments over the phone.</p>
<p>dstark:</p>
<p>I’ll hold you payment for you, and fwd it to the appropriate authorities in due time. :D</p>