Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of the oldest and most respected health
insurance companies in the United States.
Here are some reviews and testimonials from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield health
insurance members about their health insurance plans. If you have any questions about Anthem BCBS as to
the differences between policies or what policies are available in your state, you can call toll free
1-877-698-6645 to speak with a health
insurance specialist who will be able to answer any questions you may have.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Colorado: Anthem Healthcare Review
Just last year, my husband and I were married at 18. Starting out as an 18 year
old wife, I had no idea what to expect when it came to health care except that
neither of us received it as a benefit through work and so I was SOL.
After doing some research on private health insurance, as that was the only
option we had, I finally settled on Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which was the
Colorado branch of the health care my parents had always had. There were only
two people on the policy: my husband and I, both of us 18 at the time. We had no
outstanding medical conditions except I have asthma, which raised our monthly
rate by $20. We opted out of the vision plan as neither of us have a history of
eye problems, but the dental was a must-have. Our policy cost us $286 per month
with a $500 deductible, 20% coinsurance, and a $35 copay for three doctor
visits. The plan as also a PPO with reduced rates offered for doctors in the
network.
Overall, I was very happy with this plan. Starting out, we were on a budget and
so we needed something affordable and most plans I looked at were either
expensive or the benefits weren't worth it. The plan is best suited for those
who don't go to the doctor very often, as the office visits are limited to three
and the coinsurance 20%, fairly low.
The one big drawback for this insurance is the dental coverage doesn't always
cover like it should. My dentist said it's often a problem with Anthem. I went
in to have fillings done and I needed about 6 fillings. However, there were
three fillings that the insurance didn't cover any part and they were three of
the most expensive fillings. The dentist wasn't sure why the insurance wouldn't
cover them as it should have at least covered its percentage. In the end, the
fillings would have cost $750 and the insurance was only paying $400 of that
when the 20% coinsurance should have covered more than that.
The really nice thing was that Anthem was accepted just about everywhere I went.
I live in a very small town of Rifle and my big concern was whether the doctors
I would visit were in the network or not as I wanted to receive that discount,
regardless of how small it was. However, I was happy to find that even though my
town was small, the doctor and dentist I went to were all covered.
I would highly recommend this plan to young families that are just getting
started, but not so much for couples who regularly go to the doctor or those
with children.
Anthem Blue Cross California Review:
I believe having health insurance is very important to every family even if it
is not the best. My family currently has Anthem Blue Cross of California SmartSense 1500 and Share 3500 (for myself for maternity). My husband is
employed and this how we have our insurance we currently pay 45.00 dollars every
two weeks automatically out of each paycheck. After reviewing my plan, I don't believe this is a
bad rate. So far we have one complaints which is the high deductible we have to
meet for each one of us. My deductible is 3500 and the coinsurance is 20%,
sometimes this is hard to do cause we rarely go the doctor so its like not
really having any insurance to help out unless it is very serious situation as
maybe a surgery.
Currently, it is me and my husband and our one child that is on
the insurance. It is a PPO plan which I am glad for because our doctor is listed
on that plan so we only have to pay 40 dollars at the visit. I would say they
where great when I gave birth to our son. He was born early and had several complications
and was sent home on a apnea monitor. The insurance approved the monitor and
paid for all of it as well as the parts needed for the equipment the whole 4
months he was on it. They also helped me drastically at this time, I suffered
from postpartum and they gave me assistants in dealing with this as well as
paying for my medications. They even sent a nurse into our home to help me with
our son while I was suffering from this problem. I believe all the help they
offered is what helped me overcome my problem, because I was able to call the
nurse when I needed help and she would help me in any way.
Another thing I love about our medical insurance is it provides us with a free
eye exam once a year, which is excellent for me because I have terible eye sight.
They even pay so much on my contacts and glasses. We also have dental insurance
which is pretty good as well they pay for one cleaning a year. They also paid
very well on my braces that I had to have on for several years. One thing I do
like about this insurance is the prescription coverage where our deductible on
it is 500 dollars with a copay. We do take several medications me and my husband
both so this really helps with our prescription cost. So all in all I do
appreciate our Anthem Blue Cross of CA insurance even though I may not like our
deductible. I live in San Francisco and many of our friends have Kaiser, but we
hate HMO’s so we like having so many options to see just about any doctor in
California. As I previously stated, in this rough economic time, especially in
CA, I believe everyone should consider them self lucky to even have any health
insurance!
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado Review:
My family has been with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of CO for nearly 20 years.
During the last 5 years we’ve had the Anthem Lumenos HSA plan with a $3000 deductible. We
have used the medical insurance for bringing two newborns into this world, a
major surgery, the care of our second child, as well as routine office visits,
x-rays, and so forth. There has never been one time that any of us have
regretted being with this company, thinking about going with another company, or
been discouraged with any of their coverage or services.
Anthem Blue Cross offers fair and reasonable co-pays. For example, any of the
four family members in our household can see the doctor for a small fee. If we
need lab work we do not pay any co-pay. You can imagine the amount of money that
saved us while my wife was pregnant. It seemed she was having one x-ray after
another. Our prescription drugs generally cost $4 per bottle from Costco. We do
not use any generic brands. I imagine they might be even less expensive. The other
great feature Anthem Blue Cross offers is eye care. I recently had an eye
examination. I did not pay anything for this service. I have not yet received my
new glasses, as I just ordered them, but it is my understanding that there will
not be a charge as long as I stay in the Anthem Blue Cross guidelines.
When my wife gave birth to our second child we paid a minimal amount of total
costs. It was really unbelievable and I strongly doubt any other insurance
company can match this. She had all of the frequent examinations, lab work, and
everything else associated with being pregnant. Fortunately, she did not have
any difficulties during the birth. She received excellent care throughout the
first date of receiving news she was pregnant to the day she arrived home with
our beautiful baby daughter. The doctor did feel she was a little stressed and
tired. He offered to have her stay for an additional day at the hospital, which
would not have cost us any additional expense, but she was eager to take our
newborn home.
The follow up with our new baby has all been included and my wife seldom pays
for anything, other than the doctor co-pay, when she has the baby check ups. We
did take our baby to emergency on one occasion. This was due to a concern we had
when she suddenly broke out in red marks on her body. It was after business
hours and we did not want to risk waiting until the next morning. It turned out
that our baby was allergic to a new formula my wife was feeding her. There was a
small emergency room fee, other than that there were not any other charges. The
one charge we paid was worth every penny to have the peace of mind we felt once
receiving the diagnosis.
We have also received excellent care with our son. Being a boy we have had him
in the emergency unit as well as the doctor's office on more than one occasion.
The most recent, and most severe, was when he broke his elbow. Although this
accident happened on private property, and the owner's insurance ended up paying
all charges, Anthem Blue Cross first absorbed all of the costs and we did not
pay any out of pocket expense. Our son was in the hospital for four days. The
first day he was scheduled for the operation by the specialist. This went
perfectly smooth. When he came back to his room, aside from being somewhat
groggy, he was in A-1 condition. Although he did not want to stay in the
hospital (who does) the doctor felt this was in his best interest due to his age
and the possibility of a re-injure since he is a very active boy.
If I am offered my choice of insurance companies - despite the cost or any other
factor - there is no second thought - Anthem Blue Cross is the top-notch
provider for HSA plans.
Anthem California Health Review Insurance:
At the beginning on my pregnancy, with fraternal twins, my husband was able to
get us on with Anthem Blue Cross. We are part of a PPO Plan and live in
California. Ever since the conception and delivery of our twins, we have been
blessed to be insured with this company. My twins were born seven weeks early
and were in the NICU for two weeks. So, they each had their own incubator,
oxygen and on a heart monitor. I can only imagine how much Anthem had to pay to
keep them alive. My twins were so tiny, under 4 lbs each. If it were not for
Anthem and their insurance coverage, I really do not know what the outcome would
have been. Anthem Blue Cross allowed me to stay in the hospital with my twins
for one week and then I was sent home. This all happened in November 2005 and
today my twins are normal, little children, laughing, playing and doing what
toddlers do.
My husband is self employed so we do not get insurance through his work. Our
plan is under a family plan and we pay an out of pocket premium of almost $700
monthly. It seems we are always getting something new in the mail from Anthem
regarding an increase in monthly fees, prescriptions and co pays. My family
consists of four and we are all on this insurance plan. Since March 2006, I use
it more than my husband or twins do. In March 2006, when my twins were five
months old, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and have been injecting
myself with this amino acid every night since then. I am blessed to still be
insured with Anthem and hope it continues into the coming years with this new
National Healthcare Plan.
When it comes to medicines, I take one for epilepsy and one for MS, and the
costs keep rising. That is one thing that scares me. Anthem does all they can to
provide some financial help to me and my family. Sadly, it looks like the cost
of brand name medicines will keep increasing if the pharmaceuticals have their
way. Back in 2005, our copay was only $20 per office visit, now it is $40 per office
visit. These increases make my family stay away from the doctor’s office and
stay healthier. Since the winter, we have begun eating more vegetables and now
in the spring, more fruits and vegetables. Ever since being diagnosed with M.S.,
I tend to eat healthier anyway. If I do go see my doctor, G.P. or Neurologist,
or my twins see their doctor, it is only for our annual check-ups or to get a
prescription refill. My twins will get sniffles and coughs, in winter only, and
are never sick any other time of the year. Even though they were born premature,
they do not look or act it today.
Recently though, I was sent in an ambulance to my local community hospital
because I had a loss of consciousness, or seizure. I was out getting my favorite
cup of coffee and some cookies, when all of sudden, I found myself on a gurney,
in a hospital. Having seizures is a symptom of epilepsy which I have to control too.
The last time I had a seizure, I was 11 years old. Seizures do not run in my
family either, but all of a sudden, they have come back with these symptoms. So, having a seizure is what caused me to end up in my local hospital and I
only paid $100 for the hospital, but I am still waiting to get a bill from the
doctor.
This Anthem health insurance is really a blessing, but with what we can afford
each month, we do not have vision or dental. This is sad because we now pay out
of pocket for my vision and our family’s dental visits. I am the only one who
wears corrective lenses in the family. I pray my twins will not require
corrective lenses in the future.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield review from Ohio:
Our family has the
Anthem SmartSense Blue Cross Blue Shield Family Health
Insurance Policy and this is our review of this policy. We live in the state of
Ohio, and this policy coverage is for my wife and myself and it is administered
through my wife's place of business.
This plan is a PPO based plan through Anthem Blue Cross/ Blue Shield.
My wife pays the insurance premiums through weekly deductions from our checking.
It totals $293 and some change per month. The premium breaks down to under $50 a
week.
All in all, my wife and I feel that this insurance policy is a very good value
for the money. Our co-payments are thirty dollars for a regular physician's
visit and the same for a specialist. I have a special condition that requires my
having to see specialists for my health care, so I utilize the co-pay often,
while my wife usually just uses one visit per a year.
We also are aware that we have an 70/30 split on hospital coverage, meaning that
our insurance will cover 70% of any qualified hospital visit and we are
responsible for the 30% that is not covered by the insurance. This also applied
to the use of an ambulance where the insurance covered 70% of the total bill and
we were responsible for the other 30%.
We also have Dental Coverage through this SmartSense plan, which I am using (in
addition to my personal dental insurance through my place of business) to have
dental work done. I just got done having some work done and with the insurance
coverage the total came to under $100 dollars for this visit, which included
X-Rays, crown, and a dental cleaning.
Since I am the person who most takes advantage of the insurance I will give you
a recent example of when I have had an appointment with my Rheumatologist. My
Rheumy is associated with a local medical organization and I usually go to this
place for my visits. It is a pretty painless process, as they usually just ask
about any updated information and any changes in the medications that I
presently use.
My total cost for the visit is as I stated earlier is just $30 dollars and I
already know that the totals just for the visit is better than $300 dollars.
My lab work was also covered by the 70/30% cost coverage, as I just received a
bill from a company for the balance of a $400 dollar plus bill, which cost $75
out of my pocket for the remainder of the bill.
If there is ever an issue with your insurance coverage, you can always make a
phone call to Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Ohio and speak with their customer
service staff, and I have had to do this several times over the past two years
and always found them to be knowledgeable and helpful. I should also tell you
that you can always find more information about your policy through an agent, as
they usually understand plans better than anyone.
All in all, we both feel that our insurance coverage through Anthem OH is a nice
value for the dollar.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Health Insurance
I have peace of mind knowing that my spouse and I are covered
under the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Health Insurance policy. If either
of us gets sick, I know I will be in good hands.
I receive my health insurance through my employer. I pay $170 bi-weekly for an
employee and spouse plan. However, my employer has an incentive. If I
participate in the health and wellness incentive, which I do, I receive $20 off
the price of my insurance premium bi-weekly. There are three different plans to
choose from, single, employee and spouse, or family (which includes children
under the age of 18, or a child over the age of 18 up to the age of 24, if they
are a full-time student).
Our deductible is a bit high, for my spouse and me it is $1,650 a year. However,
the deductible is based on an employee's earnings; I have one of the lower
deductibles. Once the deductible is met, then the co-pay is 80/20% for in
network, and 60/40% for out of network. We have always used in network as there
is always a doctor to be found.
If anything serious happens to either my spouse or me that require a lengthy
hospital stay, it will not cost us an arm and a leg. After the deductible, the
yearly out of pocket expense would only be $4,950. The out of pocket expense is
per plan, not per person. Our lifetime benefit is $2,000,000. A hospital stay
can get costly, but it does not seem likely it would amount to the lifetime
benefit.
In addition to what has already been mentioned, other benefits include:
Free physical exams, immunizations and inoculations up to $300 per year.
Private Duty Nursing for 42 visits per year
Skilled Nursing Facility for a maximum of 60 days per illness or injury
Physical Therapy includes 25 visits per year
No limit of number of days of an inpatient hospital stay
Free choice of any licensed legally qualified MD or hospital
Chiropractic services of up to 12 visits per year
Other benefits include Home Health Care, Hospice Care, Durable Medical
Equipment, and Behavioral Health/Alcohol and Substance Abuse.
I live in Atlandta, Georgia and my insurance is a PPO plan. This is the only
plan available from my employer. The last two years I was enrolled in an HMO
plan. With the HMO plan I had to travel an hour and a half from my home in order
to see a specialist. With the PPO plan, I do not have that inconvenience. I can
now go anywhere I want to see a doctor or specialist, which is a tremendous time
saver.
I have not had the need to use my insurance as of yet, but my spouse will be
using it for the first time to have oral surgery done. From the time his dentist
referred my spouse to a specialist, to the time that the surgery provider
contacted Anthem, everything went smoothly.
Insert your review here:
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For any questions about Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance, deductibles, co-pay, or any
other health insurance related questions, please email us at
info@HealthInsuranceReviews.com.
Or you can call us toll free at
1-877-698-6645 to speak with a health
insurance specialist who can answer any questions you may have about Anthem BCBS
health insurance or any other question about health insurance.
