Fed Open Season - high deductible GEHA vs Carefirst

[Anonymous]

I'm crunching numbers and due to some of my Hopkins doctors now being out of GEHA's (United) network, Carefirst is going to be cheaper for me. Anyone with direct experience, is the allowable amount reasonable? It looks like prescrip drugs and other things are comparable. If you've had both, I'd love to get a comparison! Only interested in the HDHP plans. TIA.

[Anonymous]

Geha was a PITA because it's built on United, which sucks. Carefirst is slightly more expensive out-of-pocket/upfront, but equally manageable financially and MUCH easier in terms of finding/keeping competent providers (in as much as an insurance makes that possible). I love our Carefirst now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Geha was a PITA because it's built on United, which sucks. Carefirst is slightly more expensive out-of-pocket/upfront, but equally manageable financially and MUCH easier in terms of finding/keeping competent providers (in as much as an insurance makes that possible). I love our Carefirst now.

Slightly more expensive - are we talking like 5-10% more?

I know this isn't a 1:1 comparison bc CF has copays for some things, which GEHA doesn't (I have GEHA currently)..

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We have had geha high deductable plan for over 15 years, switching to blue cross standard.
1. My doctor suggested I talk to my pharmacist about their opinion of federal prescription plans. Without missing a beat mine said it is hard to beat blue cross, it is the gold standard.
2. The out of network hd plan deductible for geha was only 3 k just a few years ago. It's now up to $6600 so their one noteworthy advantage, that they were good for out of network mental health for example, is now gone. They are systematically squeezing the consumer to stay in networks that are consistently SHRINKING because they pay poorly and are an admin nightmare so they also have ruined the former benefit of a high deductable plan for heavy users who want to pick their providers. It's very hard to hit the $6600 deductable for my famijy.
3. They are extremely disorganized administratively. A nighmare to deal with, customer service used to be their strength...no more.

[Anonymous]

Almost anything now will be better than geha/united.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm crunching numbers and due to some of my Hopkins doctors now being out of GEHA's (United) network, Carefirst is going to be cheaper for me. Anyone with direct experience, is the allowable amount reasonable? It looks like prescrip drugs and other things are comparable. If you've had both, I'd love to get a comparison! Only interested in the HDHP plans. TIA.

They are not comparable for drugs in my opinion. Blue cross will likely be better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have had geha high deductable plan for over 15 years, switching to blue cross standard.
1. My doctor suggested I talk to my pharmacist about their opinion of federal prescription plans. Without missing a beat mine said it is hard to beat blue cross, it is the gold standard.
2. The out of network hd plan deductible for geha was only 3 k just a few years ago. It's now up to $6600 so their one noteworthy advantage, that they were good for out of network mental health for example, is now gone. They are systematically squeezing the consumer to stay in networks that are consistently SHRINKING because they pay poorly and are an admin nightmare so they also have ruined the former benefit of a high deductable plan for heavy users who want to pick their providers. It's very hard to hit the $6600 deductable for my famijy.
3. They are extremely disorganized administratively. A nighmare to deal with, customer service used to be their strength...no more.

Yes, for family next year GEHA's out network deductible is $9,000. CF is also steep - $6,800.

Interesting you mention the disorganization - this was the first year my dentist billed me for what I discovered was GEHA's administrative snafu.

Their website does have a banner that worries me bc of the debacle with United: "CareFirst is in active discussions with Johns Hopkins University Providers regarding a new agreement." But at least there is a historical precedent of this happening in 2022 and they came to terms... United OTOH still hasn't and sent a pissy letter to customers saying it wasn't their fault.

[Anonymous]

My health broker says CareFirst is one of the best you can get in this area.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had GEHA for the last three years, and based on the last two of them will not only not choose United Healthcare at any point in the future, but also will never again accept a job with United Healthcare as the only viable coverage option. It’s THAT bad.

The issues generalize beyond the HDHP. Their claims customer handling is abysmal. It’s as if you had to interact with Comcast to get approval for heart surgery. No more!

[Anonymous]

I currently have BCBS, but wanted to get info on GEHA for comparison. Their website was not helpful. I tried to call them over 2 days, but kept on getting the busy signal.. like I was transported to 1990s!! When I finally got someone to answer, she hung up on me. Well, I got my answer, I'm staying with BCBS.

[Anonymous]

We had to switch from GEHA this year because our 2 closest hospitals are hopkins hospitals and our primary care and a couple of specialists a hopkins practice. It has been a major and costly pain.

[Anonymous]

I do suspect, based on their decreasing capacities and inability to reach an agreement with Hopkins, that their enrollment will be down in 2026. They deserve the consequences.

[Anonymous]

We pay a lot for CareFirst but it's come through when we have had cancer/surgery/etc.!