Which is better geha or bcbs

With the HDHP you will pay full freight for office visits till you hit the full deductible, which it sounds like you will do in just a couple months. So where do you get it back if you go with an HDHP? The comparison from that point on comes down to deductibles vs coinsurance. Since you must already know what they typically are, you can do the math. Elevate does not. The key to remember is that HDHPs typically have a natural advantage because the federal government is paying for your savings through tax breaks, not the insurance company.

Her medications for the moment, thankfully aren't too expensive because they're still ultimately trying to diagnose the core problem which is what her upcoming surgery is for, they are doing a second biopsy due to abnormal results and before that she has to have another x-ray and a study that we are to be discussing this coming week with her specialist from Seattle and her surgeon in Portland. This coupled with the stress of changing insurances has been hugely overwhelming hence why I'm here.

On a side note, yes I am signing up for dental and vision, I and my husband both have to have prescription eyewear and I have some dental issues that we were unable to address when I was working for the hospital because the insurance was just too expensive for us at the time. Last edited by Tdubs on Sat Sep 05, pm, edited 1 time in total. Post by goaties » Sat Sep 05, pm I think some of us are missing the point.

It seems that the most important thing in this case is to pick the plan with the widest network, so as to avoid more unintentional encounters with out-of-network providers as much as possible. So far, that seems to have been a big and expensive problem. David Grabiner. In years in which we have orthodontic expenses, we'll save more because of the ability to contribute to the Limited-use FSA.

None of this includes the possibility of further benefits from growth in the HSA. Moreover, in a year in which we don't expect orthodontia or other major dental expenses, it's possible to use the preventative dental benefits in the GEHA HDHP in lieu of separate dental insurance.

Note also that the two plans have different definitions of preventative care--you'll pay nothing for a colonoscopy every year on BCBS, but you only get one preventative every 5 years on GEHA. If you have a situation like this, CVS Caremark can fulfill a "bridge" amount like a week's worth from retail at mail-order cost, until the mail order comes through usually takes two or three days. But you have to ask and arrange that.

Although it's nice to have mail order and not to have to set foot in a CVS in a pandemic, if you need medicine that day, it's a bit of a hassle to have to arrange the bridge at the CVS or on the phone with Caremark. It was unusually easy to reach live people for both including during the pandemic and both companies' reps were very helpful.

In contrast, I virtually never had to contact BCBS--a great thing--but the couple of times I needed to, I found it impossible to get a hold of a live person--my questions went unanswered.

Basically, it's a great plan for low-use and high-use scenarios, but it seems like people in high-use scenarios are spooked away from it, resulting in a healthy pool of members, and correspondingly low premiums. But I truly hate their CVS mail rx system it was a terrible experience for us. Filled out all the paperwork to set up account, sent in scripts - nothing after a couple of weeks. Called several times to try to get it sooner- kept telling us there's nothing they could do - its "being processed" and we had to wait.

No other help or offer to fill first week locally - didn't even know that option existed till I saw above post. We had to start from scratch and fill locally and were 2 months behind on starting the meds. Obviously, this wasn't for an urgent situation - but I was horrified at the incompetence. They just didn't seem to care, no matter who we called. Ever since then I avoid CVS like the plague and just pay more for meds via local supermarket pharmacies.

Apparently CVS mail order works for others, but I think they're the worst. I had been satisfied with GEHA for several years and it had coverage for vision. Just too many problems with CVS and Caremark - straw, camel's back, and all that. No way I'd go back. Board index All times are UTC. No guarantees are made as to the accuracy of the information on this site or the appropriateness of any advice to your particular situation.

Platform for the Mission. Search for Accountability. Security Clearance Insecurity. The Space Hour. Your Turn. More Audio Shows. Federal Insights. Executive Briefings. Industry Analysis. Federal Report. Is your glass half full or half empty? Check your health plan. Related Topics. More at tsp. The latest in Government Events powered by:. View More Events. Post Your Event. Fed Photo of the Day Members of the 3d U. Army Gen. Many feds pay considerably more for their long term care premiums.

For a complete list of changes for both plans review section 2 of each brochure. Here are links to the two PDF files:. Most federal annuitants are hesitant to sign up for Medicare Part B due to the additional cost and what appears to be duplicate coverage. In one instance, Pat the wife of a man I worked with for many years, is now in her late 70s.

At age 65 her husband decided not to sign them up for part B. Pat called me 6 months ago asking if it was too late to sign up for Part B.

She was also paying other high coinsurance fees. If you review coinsurance and copayment costs within your current FEHB plan you can see where the costs could be prohibitive for major medical problems. With Part B these fees are waived. I've used GEHA forever at least 20 years and have been very satisfied.

Our usage has been moderate, we do the free lab work at Quest, and I have never had a problem with claims processing. We still use some brand name prescriptions and I think they are high on some of them but I never felt motivated to look for an alternative. Brand name drug expenses can get very expensive for powerful new and costly drugs these days and, as I understand it, are included in the Basic limitation.

Per the limitation and re: the brand name drugs portion, I think maybe Basic is the better plan and possibly the far better plan based on the factor of brand name drugs. The reasoning would be, if health expenses are high enough to approach the limit, brand name drugs are probably an important treatment component.

OUtside Per GEHA's plan brochure, the deductible does count towards your catastrophic maximum. However, if you are heavily medicated you shouldn't pick BCBS basic either. If there is a high health expense year, there can be any number of visits. Similarly, prescription drugs, if a high expense year, prescription drugs expenses will probably be high, probably quite high. I am not saying a decision between the plans should be made on this factor alone.

You would have to look at what is included as well as what is excluded by the number. Dr office visits and prescription drugs having their own limitation are big exclusions. Thanks for the advice and discussion. A lot to think about. I did check and it looks like there are at least labs nearby where we could use the LabCard.

I actually didn't realize there were differences between plans on what contributes to the catastrophic maximum. I guess they are trying to make it as difficult as possible to compare plans. I'm not too worried about the dr. Prescription is one area you could get burned. I'll still be sticking with GEHA though. It depends on your risk tolerance I guess. There were also very difficult to get procedures approved.