David Watts

Review of SelectHealth

Its hard to review an Insurance company, as so muc...

Its hard to review an Insurance company, as so much of what makes people happy or upset is actually not the insurance company's responsibility. For example, most people's employers pick the plan and then determine how much the employee is going to pay. Choice of plan and network are usually not limited by SelectHealth, if the employer is willing to pay for the larger network.

Many also complain about not having claims covered, but then also complain about the rising cost of insurance. You cant have it both ways. Just like your car insurance goes up if you have a claim against it, the more claims against a health policy, the more the premiums are going to be the next year.

The best thing that you can do for your insurance is to be actively involved. A quick phone call before your procedure, or seeing a new provider, can make a big difference in your experience.

Based on the things that an insurance company can control, SelectHealth is at the top of the pack. It is very rare that you are not able to get an actual person on the phone within 30 seconds (they promise employers they will answer calls this quickly). Compared to the rest of the industry, this is fantastic. All of the phone reps are also located in Utah. No calls overseas to someone you cant understand.

Claims processes are also closely aligned with industry standards. While you might find some small differences between one company vs another, the health insurance industry is so heavily regulated that most policies cover the same basic services. How they pay for those services are going to be based on what your employer chooses to pay for. Often they don't want to pay for you coverage, so they chose a plan that has high claim costs to you, and then they pass the cost of insurance on to the employees.

Customer service is also among the best in the industry. While you may not get the answer you want to your question, you can get an answer because you can get someone on the phone.

Are there places for improvement, sure. I tend to feel like I am always talking to someone who is new when I call. When they are not confident about the answer, or if it take a really long time to get an answer, then I usually call back and speak to someone else, or I will ask for a supervisor.

You will pay more for SelectHealth, but the level of service from SelectHealth is much better then you will get from a Blue Cross or United Healthcare. Its up to you but I am willing to pay for the ability to get someone on the phone. I just make sure I call SelectHealth before I see a new doctor or have a procedure done. When I do that, I have never had a problem.