By: sio42
elsietheheel - make sure to check with your provider or to actually read the fine print or ask the insurer about the visit limits. when i still had insurance last year, it had a limit on visit for MH....
View ArticleBy: elsietheeel
Thank you for this post. I had no idea about the Mental Health Parity Act. That certainly explains why I was charged $10 more than my copay for a psych visit (meds) because I had a non-parity diagnosis...
View ArticleBy: stormpooper
@xoebe, then wouldn't you also think they would have to get rid of a PPO option across the board, which doesn't require preauthorization? HMO was tooted "Save money" and that fell like a ton of bricks...
View ArticleBy: Xoebe
Well, there is the issue of parity. Insurers could save a LOT of money by requiring preauthorization for any and all visits, both conventional medical and mental health. You know that this is coming up...
View ArticleBy: stormpooper
@cstross. In theory, it meant you had to go to the insurance company and the provider to ask for permission to have the provider continue your care based on a diagnosis. If the insurance company felt...
View ArticleBy: cstross
Can someone explain what this means in English, for those of us who live in a country with free healthcare[*] provided by the government? [*] At the point of delivery, obviously.
View ArticleBy: MCMikeNamara
Actually, though this was certainly a clusterfuck, BCBS Illinois is non-investor owned. There are no shareholders to make happy - only corporate customers to keep happy by keeping costs down.
View ArticleBy: rtha
So stupid. It is. Until you remember that for insurers like BCBS, their bottom line is profit, not your health. Their most important clients are their shareholders, not you.
View ArticleBy: stormpooper
The mental health act also allowed for unlimited visits. In the past, people who were abused or have substance abuse should have "gotten over it and suck it up", in the insurers eyes with their 30...
View ArticleBy: stormpooper
@John. The "throw you a bone" vists were 10 visits (per provider? per member? They couldn't agree) a year where you don't have to per-authorize. So if your treatment, say meds, was only 10 visits for...
View ArticleBy: stormpooper
I asked why was this happened and they said that Magellin was no longer managing the contract, that BCBS IL was and didn't know if this was a long term necessity or a temp during transition....
View ArticleBy: JohnFredra
I didn't really understand what was being won here, but the last article made it a little more clear. The nut of the federal law is that mental health benefits can't be treated differently than...
View ArticleBy: azpenguin
So, a couple of years ago I'm stuck in ER, being the unlucky soul that ended up with it being "my turn" to wait with a family member who had once again overdone it on alcohol. The physician and I were...
View ArticleBy: zachlipton
See, I knew this was blatantly illegal under federal law, and I'm a 22 year old software engineer. If I knew, BCBS obviously knew, yet they forged ahead anyway in the name of saving money. Want to bet...
View ArticleBy: stormpooper
So happy about this. When I called the reps at IL one said that if you see multiple providers, the 10 "throw you a bone" visits were total for the year. Meaning if you saw someone for meds and someone...
View ArticlePre-authorization for mental health policy only lasted 5 days
If you are a BCBS IL PPO large group policy holder with mental health benefits, you probably received a letter stating you were required to obtain pre-authorization for your visits. By doing so this...
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