Federal health plans: BCBS Basic v. the Carefirst options
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Anonymous
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Anyone have any thoughts on the BCBS Basic versus the Carefirst Standard (or even High)?
The BCBS Basic looks good, except there are so many places where it says that there is a 30 percent co-insurance for "agents, drugs" et cetera administered in conjunction with treatment. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with that. (is that mainly an issue with chemo or something like that?) Carefirst Standard seems good, but there is a deductible. Is it an HMO or not? It says in one place that it's an HMO and in another that it is a POS. Is only the Carefirst High option an HMO? thanks for any advice. I currently have another Federal HMO, but the premiums are so high for 2014. |
Anonymous
| Carefirst PPO. All the way. |
Anonymous
Is Carefirst PPO the Carefirst "Standard"? It's kind of confusing. |
Anonymous
I believe there is a PPO basic and a PPO standard. I assume what you are calling Carefirst is Blue Cross Blue Shield for feds -- at least, my card says BCBS but when I go to the doctor it comes up as Carefirst. Anyway, I have Standard, and it has been great. There is a deductible but it's not terrible; I think it was $300 this year, which I easily satisfy since I see an acupuncturist every 6 weeks. It pays for about 40% of that after the deductible. The prenatal benefits are awesome. I am 39 weeks pregnant and have not paid a cent in prenatal care, not even copays. Nothing for testing either. Supposedly it also covers the vast majority of birth costs in the hospital but we haven't reached that point yet, so we'll see. Since it is a PPO, no referrals are required for specialists, either. And I have yet to find a doctor I want to see who does not take it (unless they don't take any insurance at all). I don't feel that I am a terribly high consumer of health care when I am not pregnant -- other than the acupuncture, my yearly roster includes 1 OBGYN visit, 1 dermatologist visit, 2 dental visits, and 1 ophthalmogist visit, and nothing else unless I am on death's door -- but I have found the plan to be very good for me. If you use fewer services than I have listed, you might do just fine on the Basic plan as well. |
Anonymous
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We have Blue Cross Blue Shield Standard. They do call it "Care First" whenever I check-in anywhere.
I love our coverage. I go to whatever doctor I want--without needing a referral. I've been to several in-network (or whatever it's called) specialists this year, and the doctors have all been great. |
Anonymous
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We've had BCBS/Carefirst Basic for years. No complaints. It's been great. I think the difference between Basic and Standard is that you can't go out of network with Basic.
Not sure about the 30% thing you mention. Maybe post a link? |
Anonymous
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okay, now I'm confused.
Of the Federal plan options, there is a BCBS basic and standard. AND there is a Carefirst Standard and High option (usually listed under the HMO/regional plans). I'm confused whether PPs have the BCBS Standard or the Carefirst Standard. |
Anonymous
| I have BCBS Basic and have had no complaints. Plenty of doctors to choose from, and I rarely have had to pay for anything above the copay, which is $25/35. |
Anonymous
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We switched from BCBS standard to BCBS basic last December and I've been very pleased. I was a little nervous about making the switch since I was pregnant, but everything during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum was covered. (I was nervous because you have to use in-network providers and had a fear about needing some kind of medical service during/after delivery and what if the attending doctor was not in service!). Delivered at INOVA Fair Oaks and it was great.
Premiums for basic are much cheaper than for standard. We don't use any specialists, so i kind of felt we were overpaying for the services we actually use. Plus, if we did need a specialist, I'd just be sure to get one within network. Seems like lots of in-network providers in DMV anyway. |
Anonymous
You're confusing me. Have they changed things? As far as I know there's a blue cross Blue Shield standard and a Blue Cross Blue Shield basic. I never heard of this high option you're discussing. |
Anonymous
These are the four plans I'm talking about. The first two are the BCBS national plans (Basic and Standard), and the second two are regional plans (Carefirst Standard and High). So I'm wondering if people are talking about Carefirst standard or BCBS standard? Sorry if I've confused people... http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/compare-plans/PlanProfiles.aspx?rates=a&benefits=x&quality=abcdefg&general=abcdefghij&plans=111AAFFSB104AAFFSS2G1MDHMOH2G4MDHMOS&empType=a&payPeriod=a |
Anonymous
The first two on the chart (BCBS Basic and Standard) are fee for service, the second two are HMOs. |