Alberta Blue Cross Review

Blue Cross on line service is pretty confusing.. waste of TIME!

I am beyond frustrated with Alberta blue cross. I ve phoned and waited on hold twice now for at least 15 minutes (that s just recently we ve been with them for 15 years so I can t imagine the total time wasted) to ask basic questions about my account. Both times I got fed up and had to go so still waiting with questions trying to figure out a good time to call. HIRE MORE CALL STAFF! I ve tried to sign up with my online account that is supposed to show my balances, etc. However all I can access is basic healthy living information. HUH? Why is that even on an app? I don t need that info I need my balances!! I also have Manulife and their app is amazing! Easy to navigate. SORT YOUR APP OUT! Oh and come on! It s 2019 and I still have to send in paperwork? Manulife allows me to submit a claim online! Oooh aaaah... GET WITH THE TIMES! AB cross is awful. Don t even get me started on the confusion of having two health care accounts. Even though Manulife is now my primary account as per it being through MY employer I m still obligated to go through blue cross first for some reason?? It s soo frustrating that I have all these concerns and questions but to have to sit on the phone for over 30 minutes on hold??? MAYBE TRY OFFERING CALL BACK SO I DON T HAVE TO WASTE ANYMORE OF MY TIME?? FYI. Your customers don t have time to sit for hours on the phone. Could you make it any more difficult?? It s absolutely ridiculous how behind the times this company is. TRUST ME! SAVE THE HASSLE AND FIND ANOTHER COMPANY. If you have that option. I unfortunately do not as it s through my husband s work. So wish me luck trying to get through to these numpties :-/

checked to see what was covered - they gave me the number and I followed all their steps. Then they only covered a portion (different interpretation of their policy I guess) Thank goodness for my employer benefits and Health spending account or I would have been out $400.00. over a month for the rebate as I had to pay and then submit.

rubbish. coverage is very low for $118/month and not enough MS drugs are covered. i would seriously think about whether you need this extra expense because i am finding that once i tally up how much i saved and how much i paid for the service, i'm pretty sure i didn't get enough out of it to make it worth the trouble. not suitable for anybody who is low income (i mean real life low income, not the bullshit governement's idea of low income - to make this worthwhile, you really need to be earning at least 60k per year).

Green Cross is cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

I m kind of surprised, my out of country dental claim had been processed decently. I m pretty impressed, that they got it done at exactly given, sets timeframe 5-7 days. Thank You!

Excellent phone support by Sheena. All questions answered! Thank you!

If you get Sheena from the help line she was great in helping me with my questions

Made me jump through hoops to cancel my benefits then continued to charge me after cancelling them. Customer service representative was not helpful at all.

Worst benefit company to deal with. I ve submitted all my stuff they asked and still won t reimburse the amount. Had to call them 7 times, yes 7 times about the same claim. Only got 1 star because I had no choice. Do not recommend them if you have the choice.

Changed my banking info and forgot to update BlueCross and then I was going to pick up my prescription and then pharmcist said it's not covered. How ridiculous , you guys can call or email but instead cancel someone's coverage after 4 years how ridiculous and frustrating very unpprofessionial

If you have to go abroad for a while and need extra medicine in advance, some of your medicine coverage will be rejected, especially expensive ones. So, I paid my prescription and couldn't get refund. Called customer service for this request and got a answer "if you don't like, call another phone number to cancel your plan." We wrote a letter to their complaint officer (they don't accept email). Never get answer. Bad customer service and coverage policy!

I gave 5 star i was amaze how fast the process of my claims i submit it yesterday and i receive it today thank u blue cross

I am dealing with a variety of insurances. Alberta Blue Cross stands out as the best one. They are predictable, helpful and answer phone calls without trying to make the process as difficult as possible

If I could give the zero stars I would. You have to send in a letter to cancel your plan so I called in, they put a stop payment for one month and sent me the letter. So I sent it back in and then two months later got charged 2 months of payment. So I call back in and first they have the wrong email address on file, how the heck does that happen especially when you've already sent me documents. Second the response i get to all my Christmas money being taken from my account is "oh you can put a stop payment at the bank." Excuse me? I shouldn't have to do a thing!!!! You sent me a letter, I sent it back. It's no longer my issue if you "don't receive it" i haven't used their services in months, I called in two months ago and I sent a letter in 3 weeks ago! And then they still took two months of payments out at once! Never would I recommend this company to anyone!

Very bad service. They don't even know the information on what their own plans offer. Do not go here.

This one star is for lying on your tv commercial. They claim dental benefits are available for "non group benefits" 100% false. I was told repeatedly dental is not available on non group benefits. I'm either being lied to or everyone else is in their commercials.

Website sucks, very difficult to submit an online claim.

Its unfortunate I have to be stuck with this company as its through my employer. I thought I'd give feedback to let those who have a choice determine for themselves. The rating they have should speak for itself though.

I use the same medication, at the same weekly times and this is the way it's been for over 10 years. Nothing changes, except additional medication being added temporarily (which should increase the limit of 50.00).
Yet Blue Cross, for whatever reason they decide to give you, usually the same excuse, cannot reimburse me in regular time schedule.
One month I receive it in the beginning of the month, the next I don't even get it, then another they will reimburse me at the end of the month.

Now I understand that they won't send a pmt until the total is 50.00 or more, yet they've sent pmts for 13.00 and then for well over that amount.

So when I send them an an email asking them to explain this, and they reply EVERYTIME with the same verbiage by reiterating what I myself wrote, well it kind of speaks for how they don't even read your email, could care less about your concern, and obviously go off a scrpit. Which speaks volumes about their dedication, and integrity.

In this very difficult time when Canadians are overwhelmed with a pandemic, being on disability, EI, OR have no income you'd think they would be more consistent. Especially when we are the PAYING customers! They seem to be more in line with a government who has zero tolerance when "they" are owed money, demand it immediately up front, and even cut people off. Yet that pendulum doesn't swing the other way.

Read the reviews, look at facts, and pay attention when they pay for out of Country benefits yet cannot even be courteous to people in the country.

Paul from the customer service was very helpful. We are pleased with his service.

I upped my insurance level for a specific reason: to have coverage for ostomy supplies. After my coverage for the $1200 in ostomy supplies was used up I was suppose to go through government cost-sharing. Switching from one to the other proved to be a huge hassle and I ended up being out $300. I called Alberta Blue cross and explained the situation and they could not lower my insurance back down. They can't for 24 months! That is ridiculous. The lady I was trying to explain my situation to was not comprehending very well either - I had to explain things to her twice. I used to be happy with this company but not anymore. I have been a client for years so I don't understand why this couldn't of been fixed for me.

If you are leaving for an extended period (e.g. snowbird going to Mexico for the winter) you are:
- not PERMITTED to pick up your meds >7 working days prior to departure,
- not permitted more than 200 days of medication (even though AB Health Care allows for 225 days of absence)
- not ALLOWED to claim any benefit if you are even 1 day short of consuming 80% of your previous prescription

Lots of room for improvement in the way this plan deals with long term absences.

They sat on my claim for over two weeks, missing the payout deadline, and shorting me almost $1000.

Terrible customer service and plan. Avoid this health insurance company if you can.

Crystal H. is absolutely amazing. Very friendly and accommodating. Thank you for being awesome!!!!

Worst insurance carrier ever. I wish I could give a negative star rating. I never use much coverage except dental and they wanted to decline me extra coverage because I chose to pay prescriptions out of pocket that I knew they didn't cover rather than running it through them so they could jack up my rates. Then the lady on the other end of customer service tries to get me to change to a more expensive plan that covers way less. Save your money and either put away what you would pay them per month into a savings jar (you'll save so much money) or try AMA.

So angry with this service! The reviews are true . called to cancel my plan november 20th and was told if I faxed in the cancellation letter by november 30th they would refund my december payment in 14 days. Ok fine I fax it in on november 25th fax machine says it was recieved on their end and it prints out a copy of what I fax. Call in today because it would be the 14th business day and they have no cancellation letter from me and the account is still active. Absolute incompitence ! I am not the only customer this has happened to as the reviews say! I needed that money for xmas and I havent used the benefits at all !

Never had a smooth claim transaction with them. Getting any claim approved is like pulling tooth with them. Always finding ways not to pay you. The rating speaks for itself. Unfortunately my benefits are through my employer so I'm stuck with them.

I wish that I could rate it 0. They are trying their best to make the claim process as difficult as possible. Couldn't believe that they still need to fill all those paper forms, mail in statements, receipts. Come on, man, we are in 2018 and robots are about in our home to help with our daily chore.

I was in Jamaica, 2nd day of a seven day trip , and at 8 am i fell down the resort stairs. I limped around for a few hours and finally went to the resort nurses center I was told it would cost $175 us just to refer me to the nearest hospital with an x-ray.
I went back to my room and called the Alberta Blue Cross "Out of Canada and USA" phone number on the back of my ABC card: They answered and within a few minutes had me pre-autherized at a local hospital for xrays tests and all exams. I arrived at the hospital and was greeted with "You must be Lori!" I had xrays, tests a visit with an orthopedic specialist, and a cast for a broken foot in a few hours. The only cost i paid was the taxi there and back and the meds. I was told to submit bills for the meds when i got home.
I had a follow up scheduled and with one call again, that visit was covered and as easy as the first. Also the quality of care at the facility I was referred to, was on par with standards we as Canadians have become accustomed to. A small lovely clean state of the art hospital, with amazing staff.
This travel plan is part of my work group insurance package, i was amazed! as I've heard terrible stories of costs incurred with accidents, even with insurance plans.
I had a cast, I had a wheel chair, I had an all inclusive with crazy coconuts and coco-banana drinks and still had a lil cash to go shopping one day, and enjoy the rest of my family vacation.
Without Blue cross: I would have been in debt and have not been able to enjoy the rest of my vacation, worrying about how to pay these bills!
Blue Cross saved my sanity and my financial future! Thank you!

AB Cross has improved their customer service and website dramatically, and I applaud them for it.

Customer service is a JOKE. Had dentist appointment booked for May but dental offices were all closed due to covid and my dental allowance expired June 1st. I called blue cross to see if there something they can do or perhaps transfer partial credit to the new year so that I don t have to pay so much out of my own pocket and the lady on the phone said and I quote that s unfortunate, but there s nothing we can do ... LOL. 2 weeks later after I paid 600$ out of pocket a lady from customer retention called me and said the she s gonna escalate my case to upper management and hopefully I can get some money back. Sounds nice right? NOPE. She submitted my case in August, it is now mid October I still haven t heard anything. Emailed her twice, first time she responded and said it s still work in progress, and second time she didn t even bother to email me back. Save you money and go elsewhere.

Update.
After another month of back and forth emails, blue cross kept on promising me on new resolve dates and consistently missed on all of their promises and deadlines. Rep spoke to me over the phone and promised a refund of 400$ plus dollars to my personal bank account was magically reduced to 100$ dollars AND it was given back to the dental office instead of the me, the person who paid out of pocket with my money. Blue cross said the reason for such big discrepancy was because my dental office is charging me above industry average, however it s hard to believe because I paid 600$ for 3 fillings, which seems more than reasonable to me. I asked the rep via email to provide me with how they did such calculation and their policies on how my refund ended up at the dental office instead of myself, they once again missed the promised date which was the end of last week, I ve yet to hear from blue cross.

ALL IN ALL, save yourselves money and some grey hair, steer away from blue cross. Their dishonest, unorganized practice is very eye opening to me. BUYER BEWEAR!

I cant even believe this. SCUM!!! I got my plan all together and talked to an administrator to have my payments set up for the 15th of the month not only did they take the wrong amount out of my account and at the wrong time they took a double payment
AND MY RENT IS DUE!!!! After calling them three days ago I was promised a refund back. Looked this morning- no refund THEY CHARGED ME AGAIN!!!! will be cancelling my plan and going elsewhere

Don't get insurance from Blue Cross, you will pay full premiums but they will never reimburse you according to agreement. I had dental insurance and they should have reimbursed 85%, but when I needed it they only reimbursed 66%, contacted them multiple times with all documentation but they didn't bother to even look into matter.

Correction. They don't open 'til 8:30 in Calgary office according to their voice mail.

I have worked over the phone many times with Gail, and I must say, she is always so kind and professional!

I am deeply disappointed with the service and coverage I get from Blue Cross. Any plan you choose takes a year before it takes effect. I should really just take the money I give them every year and tuck it under my mattress, I would have $1,500 to use for my teeth every year. I think I will!