Moving requires changes :-(

[teejayevans]

Moving 20 miles, 1 county over, now I have to change insurance companies and doctors?!

Since I’m so close I could continue to go to current doctor, but it looks like I have to change insurance companies. Correct me if I’m wrong.

My current insurance provider is BCBS.
The new company is called “Oscar”, anyone heard of them?

 

[W2R]

Moving 20 miles, 1 county over, now I have to change insurance companies and doctors?!

Since I’m so close I could continue to go to current doctor, but it looks like I have to change insurance companies. Correct me if I’m wrong.

My current insurance provider is BCBS.
The new company is called “Oscar”, anyone heard of them?

I didn't realize that you would have to change insurance companies! I have heard of people having to do that when moving to a different state, or if your insurance is with an HMO that has a very limited geographic coverage. Wow.

Like you said, you could go to the same doctor, but 20 miles each way would grow old fast. Maybe you can keep going to him while you search for a top notch doctor close to your new home.

The last time I moved, it was only 3 miles and I didn't have to change any of that stuff. I haven't moved as far as you are moving since 1999, when I moved 50 miles from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. At that time I had to change insurance companies since I changed employers.

Never heard of "Oscar".

 

[RobbieB]

Well if your insurance co doesn't serve the area you moved to then I guess you have to change companies.

And if the new company doesn't serve your old doctor I guess you'll have to change doctors.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

You are correct that in some states, not all insurance companies sell their insurance to individuals in all counties. In Pennsylvania, in my county we have 2 companies that sell policies in the individual market. Some counties have 3 or 4 companies. A few only have one.

Oscar entered the market in a portion of Pennsylvania in 2020. They are expanding to a few more counties in 2021. But I do not have any info on them as they do not serve my county.

OP, how did you determine that you had to change and how did you find that Oscar served your county?

 

[2017ish]

OSCAR is an ACA oriented tech-insurance company that started up in 2012 to take advantage of the standardized ACA plans. They do a decent job for beneficiaries from what I've gathered. Here's their spartan wiki entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Health

 

[teejayevans]

OP, how did you determine that you had to change and how did you find that Oscar served your county?

It’s healthcare.gov thing, put in your zip, then you get list of plans and companies. I plan on calling BCBS directly to see what they say. I won’t be able to meet ACA guidelines this year so subsidizes aren’t a consideration.
Yeah I expected this if I cross state lines but not county lines, I wonder what people do if across a state line where a city and facilities are on the other state?

 

[Bamaman]

We moved 65 miles a year ago, and my wife continues to have physical problems. We retained the same doctors and just drive 70 minutes back and forth. We found one of our doctors has a satellite office 20 miles from us.

We have avoided Medicare Advantage plans so we're able to call our own shots on physicians, clinics and hospitals.

When shopping for Medicare this month, I did notice our Zip Code is split amongst two different counties. I don't know if rates are different, but we're in the dominant county for healthcare.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

It’s healthcare.gov thing, put in your zip, then you get list of plans and companies. I plan on calling BCBS directly to see what they say. I won’t be able to meet ACA guidelines this year so subsidizes aren’t a consideration.
Yeah I expected this if I cross state lines but not county lines, I wonder what people do if across a state line where a city and facilities are on the other state?

Good, I just wanted to make sure you knew about healthcare.gov and how to look these things up. Sounds like you've got that mastered. It's unfortunate that you seem to now live in one of those counties with only 1 provider (Oscar) via ACA. It is possible that BCBS sells in your county but NOT ON the ACA exchange. Since you do not qualify for a subsidy, this wouldn't be an issue. You can only determine this by calling BCBS or using the BCBS website to see if you can purchase it from their own online store.

 

[Katsmeow]

My kids had Oscar policies last year and I really, really liked them. They had no difficulty finding providers. In the large metro areas they live in, there was a good choice of hospitals although not as extensive as BCBS would have been. But, they had some of the better hospital chains and it was totally acceptable.

One thing I loved with the Oscar plans is that they are fairly creative about how they deal with the issue of keeping premiums low without having super high deductibles.

Most ACA plans if they have lower premiums have super high deductibles. So last year my kids both qualified for subsidies that would limit cost sharing with a silver plan. So they had lower deductibles because of that. But -- still a deductible. However, the deductibles did not apply to seeing the doctor or going to urgent care. There was only a co pay. This was great for them. They could see a doctor without having to meet a deductible.

For the upcoming year, my daughter had good news and bad news. The good news was this made more money this year. The bad news is that she eligible for a subsidy of $9 a month... So her premium was now going to be really expensive for the silver policy.

But I found her an Oscar bronze policy. It is great. There is $0 deductible. Yes, there is an out of pocket max ($8500) and there are co payments for everything. But, she can see a doctor for a $50 co payment (specialist or primary care). There is a co pay for lab tests. There is a $1150 co pay for ER. That is a lot...but much better than a $6500 deductible!

Also, Oscar will allow you to have virtual visits without a deductible or co pay. That also is helpful for certain situations.

Anyway -- my kids had BCBS the year before and Oscar last year. BCBS had a larger network. But it was basically useless do to the huge deductible. The Oscar policies have worked out ever so much better for them.

Anyway -- teejayevans -- they have had a good experience with Oscar. There is an app that is also useful.

 

[MRG]

It’s healthcare.gov thing, put in your zip, then you get list of plans and companies. I plan on calling BCBS directly to see what they say. I won’t be able to meet ACA guidelines this year so subsidizes aren’t a consideration.
Yeah I expected this if I cross state lines but not county lines, I wonder what people do if across a state line where a city and facilities are on the other state?

Moving from KC, where I freely crossed state lines for treatment, to SWCO was a shock. What do you mean I can't go to NM for services and be in network? In some areas state lines don't matter, other places they do, some places county lines matter too. Just another example of a broken system.