Blue Cross Blue Shield of FL
I am changing jobs, and my new employer uses BCBS of FL. Anyone wanna clue
me in on what hassles to expect?
I know about the www.diabetes.org/advocacy/improving.asp site, and I also
know what Florida Law says they have to cover. I was asking if anyone could
clue me on on what hassles and
hoops I will have to jump through with BCBS of FL. Each insurance company
has their own rules and limits. Currently, my insurance has a 500 dollar
cap on Durable Medical Equipment. THAT is horrible. I would like to know
if I have limits, or if I can order directly from MM oranother supplier, or
if I have to use the Insurance’s providers, etc. Any Advise is appreciated. 
DAVID
David Type 1 LADA (who LOVES his MiniMed 507c Insulin Pump!)
Assimilated into the Borg Collective on May 3, 1999, at 1200 hours
December 13th, 2005 at 11:55 am
David,
I can’t help you directly…but, I work for a subsidiary of Anthem
(the BCBS in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, etc…). When I wanted to
research BCBS before I was hired I found the BCBS web page and the
had a link to Anthem…which has information on each of their major
areas/programs. Unfortunately I am not at work today (out sick) so I
don’t have access to that BCBS web page address. But try a search
and see if you can link through to the BCBS of FL. The local page
may/may not have any information, but if you can even get a phone
number, and know what plan you’ll probably have you should be able to
get the information over the phone with a CSR.
Good luck!
SUzanna
December 14th, 2005 at 1:50 am
Hi David: best way to find out is to call BCBS of Florida and speak to a
nurse in medical management. Get it straight from the horses’ mouth and in
writing too….Joan:))
December 14th, 2005 at 7:00 am
Hi, Joan,
Yes, I know that is the best way, but since I won’t have any info
from my employer on the Insurance, (i.e. plan, coverage, etc.) I was
just hoping to hear of any experience others have had with BCBS of
FL. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see….
— In Insulinpumpusers@y…, otherouts@a… wrote:
> Hi David: best way to find out is to call BCBS of Florida and
speak to a
> nurse in medical management. Get it straight from the horses’
mouth and in
> writing too….Joan:))
December 14th, 2005 at 4:39 pm
There was a great site on the web that tells you about every insurance
company David, I have to look through my bookmarks. Hopefully I have it.
December 15th, 2005 at 10:20 pm
I’ve found BCBS of VA and MA to be pretty good at covering things - though
the portion of policy that is invoked to cover pump supplies has changed
over time - My plan now covers the pump as a prosthetic device, rather than
DME - of course the % covered and max $’s per year are variable all over,
but it might be worth a call to BCBS of Fla to find out if the Prosthetic
device issue is company wide.
I can tell you that it has been rather difficult and time consuming to get
info out of an ins. co. w/o a "member number" so one way ’round that might
be to get in touch with your new employer’s HR/Benefits administration staff
(provided they are large enough to have specialized staff.) or if the
benefits admin is outsourced you might could get in touch with that company
and have them figure it out for you.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
John Peterson
December 16th, 2005 at 8:44 pm
David,
One option is to go to the web site for Florida’s Department of
Insurance. They should list the company’s complaint ratio compared to
other insurance companies in the state. That’s one resource I used when
researching Aetna in Indiana.
Good luck! Researching insurance coverage is a big job.
Connie
David wrote:
www. .com
December 17th, 2005 at 9:35 pm
As for the prosthetic device…it is not BCBS wide…at Anthem, last
year my pump was covered as DME. Fortunately with trade-in I didn’t
have to pay anything out of pocket. Each individual BCBS company has
their own approach and policy.
Suzannaq