Insurer Admits Nearly 1,000 Doctors Wrongly Placed On Covered California Provider List

[Jesus Malverde]

Two months after KPIX 5 ConsumerWatch first reported about some doctors listed on the Covered California exchange were actually not accepting the plans, insurer Anthem Blue Cross admitted that nearly 1,000 doctors were erroneously listed.

According to a statement by the California Medical Association, the insurer recently notified 965 physicians that they were wrongly placed on the exchange’s list. The notice, which was posted on April 9th, stated that the doctors were “inadvertently” listed for “a certain period of time” during the open enrollment period.

The CMA said Anthem Blue Cross acknowledged the error after receiving a number of complaints from physicians who believed they were listed inaccurately as participating.

Guda Venkatesh, a Covered California enrollee, was one of those affected. He told KPIX 5 in February that he chose an Anthem plan because the website said the plan had a variety of Stanford doctors near him.

“Except when I started going through the doctors, each one and calling them up, none of them actually accepted the Covered California plan,” Venkatesh said.

Read More: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/04/21/insurer-admits-nearly-1000-doctors-wrongly-placed-on-covered-california-list/

[antiquie]

1. ConsumerWatch: Some Covered California Patients Say They Can’t See A Doctor

MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX 5) –

While open enrollment for coverage under the Affordable Care Act is closed, many of the newly insured are finding they can’t find doctors, landing them into a state described as “medical homelessness.”

Nguyen said the newly insured patients checked the physicians’ lists they were provided and were told they weren’t accepting new patients or they did not participate in the plan.
Those who can’t find a doctor are supposed to lodge a complaint with state regulators, who have been denying the existence of a doctor shortage for months.

“What good is coverage if you can’t use it?” Nguyen said.

Experts said the magnitude of the problem is growing, and will soon be felt by all Californians. But those on the front lines, like the free clinic, are feeling it first.

[Jesus Malverde]

2. It was an accident I tell you!

x1000

Health Insurance Complaints Skyrocket in CA


The rise in complaint volume was so extreme, the department began tracking the number of complaints from people who said they couldn't even reach their insurance providers.

“It was never an issue before this year,” Green said. But the department is only tracking “can’t reach plan” complaints for customers enrolled in Covered California. Of the roughly 1,000 complaints received between January and March of 2014, 1 in 10 people said they were trying to cancel or couldn’t reach their plan.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Health-Insurance-Complaints-Skyrocket-in-CA-256064851.html

[taught_me_patience]

4. Blue Cross ACA plans reimburse 70% of non ACA PPOs

Of course doctors are not going to want to see patients with those plans. If the doctor is good and the patient panel is full, you'll be at the back of the line for appointments.

[oneofthe99]

3. This is getting to be a cluster fuck