Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts

I wish I could give negative stars to BCBSMA. These people honestly do absolutely everything they can to not cover your healthcare. I can’t even be bothered to go into the details of the hell they put me through, but I truly hope this company goes under. I would rather be uninsured and dead rather than deal with these people. STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY.

These guys are pretty good. I had a complicated ankle break and the bills ended up reaching six figures. They paid for everything and never gave me a problem about it.
That said, watch your bills carefully for mistakes. Someone used my ID (an old school ID which I had lost) to take an ambulance ride and get emergency room care after a bender, and BCBS was happy to pay for it. I had to tell them – twice – that this wasn’t my ambulance ride and that it seemed like a mistake or fraudulent charge.

So I had to call them to find out if a claim had been submitted from a particular provider. First the young woman tells me that there is no claim in the system from them in the past few weeks. I ask if the provider has to wait until I receive the necessary equipment before they can bill a claim. She says that no they can submit a claim anytime after submitting an order to their supplier. So I said, «So you can see a claim whether it’s been adjudicated yet or not.» Her answers was, «No, not necessarily…». Okay, so the statement of being able to see if a claim has been SUBMITTED was at least partially false and totally misleading. Submitted does not equal adjudicated. Ugh.

I have to say, from a provider’s standpoint– this insurance company is the best and easiest to deal with. They are straightforward in what they require for claims submissions and they process and pay in a timely manner. When there is the occasional issue, they resolve it quickly and their appeals team works fast and fairly. I would highly recommend them to both consumers and providers (to contract with). Unfortunately, because their premiums are so high many employer groups (mine included) have had to turn away from using them for less expensive insurance plans, but I guess you get what you pay for.

Horrible company! They don’t want to cover my physical therapy because my referral was not valid. How do I suppose to know if it is valid or not when it was faxed from my primary care? Why are you telling me that 6 month later? Also, they agreed to make an exception and pay it, after I repeatedly tried to understand the issue. Still just covered 10%. Can it get any worse??? 3 physical therapy visits cost me 500 $ + 5 hours on the phone with BCBS Complete nightmare…

a very frustrating experience. bcbs has very little respect for your time.
insurance company that routinely tries not to pay claim, restrict my service, just when I THINK IT CANNOT GET MUCH WORSE, I get surprised. Yes it can:)))))))))))

It’s funny how many whiney vindictive reviews there are of an insurance company. I’ve personally had a wonderful experience with their customer service. They have been thorough and polite and even called the hospital directly while I waited, to resolve billing issues. I’ve also filed a grievance for something not covered and they handled that professionally. I never have waited too long to talk to a human and if you’re nice, they’ll go the extra mile for you. I’m very pleased my company uses this plan.

If I could give BC/​BS zero stars I would happily do it! I’m not sure there is another company out there who is any better, but I surely can’t imagine one that is worse.

Early last fall, Blue Cross refused to cover my asthma medication with no warning — I simply couldn’t renew it when I went to refill it. They decided, against my doctor’s wishes, that I needed to try a different (read: cheaper) medication for 3 months to see if it would work. During those 3 months, my asthma got so out of control that I ended up with pneumonia, a secondary bronchitis and a partially collapsed lung. On samples of my original meds from my doctor, I have recovered. And now, my doctor’s office can’t even get through to them to show them that I need the original meds! The nurse just told me that they keep telling her to refax the form, keep putting her on hold or transferring her to departments that can’t help her. I am boiling mad. Anyone who says we don’t need health care reform is insane. I hope someday these charlatans –who are destroying my health and have left me on thin ice at my job for missing so much work — will be put out of business. For shame, Blue Cross. For shame.

Thanks for revamping your «Find a Doctor» directory. It looks a lot better now. But guess what? Most of your doctors’ contact information is still outdated and incorrect. Right…

I am a provider, and I can say that this is one of the few insurers that really doesn’t care about their patients as much as they do money. They purposely put unhelpful people in the claims department and will hold claims that are expensive simply because they don’t want to pay. They are completely dishonest and are pitting providers against patients.
STAY AWAY.

BCBS of MA is a purposfully untransparent business organized to deny claims. They are pretty good for small things (flue?), but terrible at paying bigger bills. We pay $ 18 000/​y in premiums, but good luck seeing any of the money back if you have something. After a bicycle accident my wife was taken to an emergency room with ambulance. Straightforwarde case? Not so fast. What about $ 62 net payment? It took probably took me 40 hrs work, 4 phone calls (how do you get a person on the line?) and much paperwork, but they did pay what they owed in the end. For me it was not the money, but the principle of the matter. I really think our system is completely broken. Based on reviews it seems BCBS employees are pretty happy, not so their customers.

A nightmare. They are experts at tying your claim up in red tape until you give up in frustration. I have spent dozens of hours on the phone over the last year trying to get them to pay a routine lab bill for $ 250.00. First they issued a bogus $ 2.40 credit that took over 8 months to undo. Then they only paid $ 4.80 on the claim, saying the rest was our «deductible.» I don’t have the time or energy to fight with them any more and am throwing in the towel.

This whole situation is surreal to me… My husband, is the provider of our BCBS since he works for himself. We pay an astronomical amount of money per month to have BCBS. Now, my husband is not that organized and twice this year he was late on mailing out the payment. However, when he did get it in, he paid in full. To our horror, they cancelled our insurance stating that since we were late twice in ONE year paying the bill, we would not be eligible to re-​apply for 12 months!!! What the hell is that?!? Also, when you are «kicked off» BCBS, they treat you like you are scum, they are rude over the phone, they talk down to you and basically reprimand you as though you are a child – stating, «Well, you should have paid your bill on time!» SERIOUSLY! WOW! We pay almost $ 1,700.00/month and just because payment was late twice (once during the holiday season), we are being penalized even though they always get their money?!? I have never been this upset! I’ve spent HOURS talking to multiple people trying to figure out something to do and I’ve yet to get this resolved and most times while being on the phone for hours, I somehow get disconnected? Hmm, strange since while being an «active» member, they never seemed to have such bad phone issues. I am completely disgusted and when the year is up, they can have their health insurance and stick it up their…

As an update, there has finally been some movement on my claim. After writing this review, someone shared it out on Twitter and copied BCBS Member Service (
).
@BCBSMAService tweeted me within a few hours and said: «I’m sorry for the confusion. We received your claim & should have processed it earlier. We’re taking care of this as a priority.»
The following day, a gentleman from the Twitter team called and old me that my a check covering my claim in full was being sent out that day.
5 star credit where due to the BCBS Twitter team for finding a way through the bureaucracy to help me get paid. Sad that it took me writing this review for it to happen.

Wont cover my doctor prescribed treatment, I can get surgery, or narcotics and I want neither. I hope your giant corporation of lawyers all contract slow, painful, stomach cancer and that you wont pay for your own treatment.

I wish I could give Blue Cross Blue Shield no stars. They are the worst. You get some robot on the phone who does care about your needs and treats you like s… t
I called them to resolve a pharmacy issue and they where no help at all. Tell your company to drop them and and go with one of the other Health Ins carriers.

The health insurance system in this country is a mess, no matter how you look at it, but I’m pretty thankful for my Blue Cross plan if only for one thing: their ²⁴⁄₇ Registered Nurse helpline.
Got flu symptoms?
Can’t leave the house?
Is your clinic usually too backed up to get you an appointment in a timely manner?
Call Blue Cross.
Both times I’ve called, toll free at 888−247−2583, I was able to speak right away to a friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, human nurse who helped answer my questions.
Each person gave great and sound advice* about how to monitor and treat symptoms, and when to contact the doctor’s office should anything worsen. They even gave me tips for hydrating, over-​the-​counter remedies and keeping my fever down.
And they’re so nice!
The Nurse helpline doesn’t work miracles, but they helped ease my sickly situation.
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Call the helpline only if you’re experiencing minor symptoms and have insurance through Blue Cross. If you have a medical emergency or serious illness, then a clinic or hospital would be a better solution.