Thursday, March 27, 2014

All that's Gold Plan doesn't glitter

I called Blue Cross directly to ask if its most expensive insurance plan covered the only hospital I'd ever go to in an emergency. Since that's all I wanted to know, that's what I asked. (I like to get to the point that way.)
But -- as happens whenever you try to ascertain the most basic information about insurance under Obamacare -- the Blue Cross representative began hammering me with a battery of questions about myself. 
First my name. (Does that make a difference to what hospitals its plans cover?) Then my phone number. By the time he got to my address, I said, CAN YOU PLEASE JUST TELL ME IF ANY OF YOUR PLANS COVER XYZ HOSPITAL? I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I WANT TO SIGN UP WITH YOU! 
Finally, he admitted that Blue Cross' most expensive individual insurance plan does not cover treatment at the hospitals I named. Their doctors are "out of network" (and the person who designed this plan is "out of his mind"). 
As a woman in the state of Washington just found out, to the tune of about $18,000 in hospital bills.

And she went for the Gold.

2 comments:

  1. Medical rationing the fair way, lottery style: "If your auto license ends in A, your hospital is Pacific General. If your auto ..."

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    Replies
    1. I'm sure the woman from Seattle would prefer that to what actually happened to her.

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