Anonymous
map-marker Charlotte, North Carolina

Ridiculous hold times

Have called BCBS NC three times in the month of January with 60+ minute hold times each time. I'd say it's unbelievable that they would not ramp up customer service reps to accommodate the volume, but in reality it's exactly what I expected. They're not going to spend a dime that doesn't directly contribute to the bottom line of BCBS execs -- the *** with the "customer." Customers are simply regarded as a captive audience. Feel really bad for the hundreds of insurance brokerage firms and healthcare providers who can't get through either to help resolve their client's issues. It's beyond bad business.
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Deserie Fnz

HORRIBLE COVERAGE SKY HIGH RATES

I have had BCBS Florida for the past 15 years. I have a second home in NC. When in NC BCBS expects me to drive 2 hours to see a chiropractor in their plan. How am I supposed to make a 2 hour round trip when I can't even sit. BCBS just increased my premium 25% in July and they have no providers in the area of my vacation home. Their employees are rude when you call for info and they either don't know the answers or give answers that make no sense. A couple of years ago when I was up here they wanted me to drive a 6 hour round trip for a mammogram. RIP OFF COMPANY NO INTERESTED IN HELPING THEIR CUSTOMERS. If you think the people without insurance have it bad....how about those who pay thru the nose and still don't have coverage !!
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Loss:
$6000
3 comments
Guest

Johnsjoblom, thanks for your comments and suggestions. I contacted BCBS today to ask about your recommendation.

Their reply was the same as it has been for the past 8 years. If I go to a dr. Who is out of network ( which they ALL are in my NC town) then I have to pay the bill.

They said I could then dispute the charge but it's pretty clear how that would end up. I still think it is unfair but thanks for trying to help.

Guest

Contact BCBS and let them know you need to get a waiver for when you're living in NC. They'll require you pick a provider and stick with that provider, but as long as you can show there's no in-network providers and that you're living there (Don't try this if you're only in NC for a week or two they're going to tell you to wait till you're home, or that you shouldn't be traveling that much if it's such a problem) they should be able to setup the system to process a bill from an out of network provider as in-network.

It requires a bit of work, but it's not uncommon especially with college age students for covered people to be away from network providers and needing an out of network provider covered as in network.

The same applies for hospital stays, etc when in NC, they'll kick the bill out as out of network, but if you can show there was no option in network they can setup the system to provide a waiver.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-727870

They will not cover you unless you have pre approval. The only thing they will cover is emergent situations.

BCBS is the worst ever. They lie about sending information or working out claims.

They'll say anything to please you but when you hang up, you never hear from them. :(

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Anonymous
map-marker Arden, North Carolina

Website fraud

The Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina web page for making payments automatically checks a box to start recurring payments. This checkbox is buried in the middle of text and very easy to overlook. Every time you make a payment, you have to explicitly find this checkbox and disable it. That's dishonest.Second, when you try to cancel recurring payments after accidentally enabling them on a payment, the web page form tells you that they can't be cancelled because a payment is in progress. I'm a web programmer; this does not have to be true. And when I called customer service, they claimed to disable recurring payments even though the web site said it couldn't be done.
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1 comment
Sarahmarie Gco

The problem is not web coding. The problem is legally by law once a payment request is entered for EFT payment on same day/next they can't cancel it.

It has to do with Federal Reserve EFT regulations. Now as for the hiding the check box yes, that's a bit out of line.

However as always when making a payment you should review the whole page and not just assume the company is not signing you up for auto-payment.

Paul H Olt
map-marker New York, New York

Blue Cross Blue Shield NC - Deceptive! Stay AWAY!

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers services claiming to reimburse your medical bills, then sends you a dense and hard to read packet of information where it claims to be "transparent" about all the catches and fine details of what "proper health care" is and then fail to reimburse your claim. Just what exactly am I paying monthly fees for then? Either give me the benefits you advertise or be more clear about all the medical services I am really going to have to pay for when you fail to deliver on your promises. Bad service, bad company, bad business! Stay away!!!!
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Loss:
$500
Anonymous
map-marker Raleigh, North Carolina

I am in the process of being ripped off by BCBS of NC.

I was insured by this fraudulent company for years before I finally actually needed to make a claim. I had paid over $30,000 over the past 5 years in premiums and never needed to make a claim, but when I finally had an accident and went to the ER, I was soon found out that all the money I had paid them was lost forever. The most frustrating part was that they had a slick way of addressing every question posed to them in regards to not covering me. It is my conclusion after a solid year of "Appeals" and "Grievance Panels" that I will never get back even a minute fraction of what I have paid into this policy, and the policy itself is a complete joke. To anyone who reads this, please don"t ever give a penny to Blue Cross Blue Shield no matter where you live and no matter how desperate you are for health insurance. My left hand was stabbed by a metal object when I was working on my 9 year old son's bicycle. The spoke penetrated nearly all the way through my hand and was infected within 24 hours. I am completely healthy and I figured it wasn't a big deal, but I went to UNC Emergency Room where I received treatment. Subsequently, all services rendered were administered by the UNC Hospitals Emergency Room, where I was treated and then held overnight for observation. I was in the ER for hours and it was there that my hand was treated. They would not permit me to leave the hospital and I just figured it would all be taken care of by BCBS. To my dismay, I was later informed by BCBS that they were NOT considering this an emergency room visit and that I would be required to pay approximately $2700.00 in unpaid bills to UNC Hospital, and the doctor who worked on my damaged hand.. Thus far, all of my "Grievance Appeals" have been flat denied by BCBS due to a misrepresentation of billing and a clear lack of good faith effort by BCBS. It is their contention that I admitted myself to UNC Hospital, and that this was NOT an emergency room visit, which it clearly was. This is outrageous, and the so-called "Appeals Process" at BCBS is a complete fraud and has consumed many hours of my time since the incident. Needless to say, I have gotten absolutely nowhere with my "Appeals" and the charade of a "Grievance Panel" only ended with me in the same place where I began. Something must be done to stop this corrupt business from deceiving the public and operating what is basically a scam. It is clear to me after dealing with them over the past year that it is their intent to do whatever possible not to provide the coverage that I have paid a lot of money for. The fact remains that this was an Emergency Room visit, which is clearly covered by the policy. I must point out that when I purchased this policy, the sales representative assured me that I would be covered for ALL emergency room visits without exception. This was actually the cornerstone of their sales pitch to me at the time. I am wondering now if this will ever end, and I'm also re-thinking how I need to go about remaining insured, and by whom.
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4 comments
Guest

To the BCBullshit rep. Please do us all a favor and cut off your fingers. The web would be better off without you or your canned response that does nothing to better an already tarnished image.

Guest

To the BCBullshit rep. Please do us all a favor and cut off your fingers. The web would be better off without you or your canned response that does nothing to better an already tarnished image.

Guest

Actually, it is the way the provider bills the visit. If the visit comes in billed as non-emergency, that is something the provider has to change, not BCBS.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-245117

You just revealed volumes about the kind people that work for BCBS in your disgusting comment to this man suffering! Thankyou for showing your true colors! Yeah real genius at work there "BCBS Rep"

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