We recently cancelled our health insurance policy. This is the sort of decision that can cause some people to feel a certain amount of regret. It is difficult to feel regretful about canceling insurance from a company that has inspired a website called “Sick of Blue Cross”.
There was just enough time between when we got approved for health insurance, and when the policy actually “kicked in” for me to do some research about it. I went through the booklets that the insurance company sent me with a fine tooth comb.
I called my dentist and my doctor, and directly asked them if they were “participating providers” with my insurance company. I ended up calling the insurer, and asking a series of questions to the phone rep, in order to get more exact information than was listed in the booklets.
I don’t think most people have the time to do this sort of research. Many people are not educated about what they should be looking for, or what questions it would be most helpful for them to ask. In my opinion, this is exactly how the insurance companies want it!
My research showed me that the health insurance we were approved for doesn’t really cover much of anything. We called to cancel it before it officially “kicked in”, and were able to avoid having to pay the insurer any money at all.
This leaves me with absolutely no health insurance, again. Typically, this is a situation that would make people feel a bit panicked. One might regret canceling health insurance when you don’t have another policy all ready to go. I might have felt that way, had I not come across a very interesting website.
The website is called “Sick of Blue Cross”. The insurance I cancelled came from Anthem Blue Cross. Clearly, I am not the only person who has figured out that this company sells insurance policies that do not cover much of anything at all.
I clicked on a link called “Consumer Stories”, and started reading some really sad situations. Blue Cross appears to have a history of doing a lot of rather nefarious actions. They approve claims, and then change their mind and deny them at the last minute, (leaving customers to foot the entire bill out of pocket). They also have a tendency to consider many forms of cancer treatment as “experimental”, (so they can deny coverage for the treatment).
Based on what I read on this website, and from what I learned through my own research, I am not the slightest bit regretful that we canceled our health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross. It really does seem as though this insurance company is more interested in making profits than it is in helping consumers to get good health care.
Image by Stallio on Flickr