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1. My husband left teaching & my employer has California Choice. We were on his insurance, so I contacted CA Choice months in advance to ask about switching mid-year, when his coverage expired. They said no problem. Great. I tried to submit documentation online six weeks in advance and they wouldn’t accept it earlier than a month before coverage loss. I tried again exactly one month before coverage loss. They went radio silence for THREE WEEKS, then contacted me asking for further documentation, all of which I provided. They now had letters from my husband’s district, from CalPERS, and from Kaiser all naming both of us and the day of coverage loss. No word from them. A few days before my coverage expired, both I and my HR manager called & emailed, but they never responded.

   The day AFTER I lost coverage, they contacted my HR manager asking for the documentation WE HAD ALREADY SENT, plus a signed letter from my husband stating when & why he lost coverage, with scans of our Kaiser cards. We sent everything again. NO RESPONSE.

   I’m now in DAY FOUR of no coverage with no end in sight. Kaiser cancelled my MRI appointment because I’m no longer covered. I have a prescription refill I need to call in today & I have no idea what will happen.

   If you can’t process routine paperwork in under a month, CA Choice, allow people to submit earlier.

   I would NOT recommend CA Choice. They’re slow, uncommunicative, and utterly uninterested in honoring their contract to provide coverage to your employees.

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2. STAY AWAY FROM THEM IF YOU CAN!! THEY HAD MY INSURANCE WITH SUTTER CANCELED FOR NO REASON. BEEN HAVING TROUBLE WITH THEM TO FIX IT FOR 2 WEEKS. OUT OF MEDS FOR 3 DAYS NOW! RIDICULOUS COMPANY. EVERYONE I TALK TO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO

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3. It works if you’re a Word & Brown exec pitching reviews. Barely satisfactory, DIY renewals. Good luck making a complaint – been there – it changed nothing, and it wasn’t even a pleasant call.

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4. I liken my experience with California Choice to a giant snowball, one small issue get rolled into another, and then another until a ‘breaking point’ so to speak occurs with a Goliath ball of ice. Let me expound.

   First was my thoughts on the plans itself – I felt while not bad, my experience in the past with other employers have generally found better offerings. To be fair – the healthcare landscape is always changing so my recollection could very well be behind the rose colored glasses clouded by annual increases in health costs. Be that as it may – it was a slight negative observation.

   I was happy to see the receipt of my temporary ID card and proceeded to make appointments with my health care providers for myself, wife and family. What I soon found was that at each of the doctors, when presented with the ID card – they told me that it lacked in basic information. It was quite a shock to me considering that an ID card serves that exact purpose – to provide enrollment information.

   Specifically they said that the Card did not have a PCN code, BIN #, Group #, and ID# – each time my providers or CVS pharmacy tried to contact California Choice – they either closed or did not have any record of me.

   This situation was drawn out over a few days with no luck.

   I concluded that the “temporary id” card is not worth the paper its printed own. It’s a complete psychological artifact that presents no viable information.

   Perplexed, I was sure a phone call would remedy the situation. I called California Choice and was told very rudely that they had no record of my enrollment and that I needed to contact HR Surprisingly, – I got a call and was surprised to hear that, yes, they DID have my information. Eager to put this all behind me and not give it another thought – I took all the information down.

   I went to my pharmacy to get my urgent medication last night, which was delayed already quite some time due to this fiasco.

   At the pharmacy, I was now told that while the PCN code, Bin# and Group# were correct – the ID# is non-existent. – I remember specifically the agent tell me that the ID# was my social security number, so I’m sure it wasn’t a case of me writing it wrong.

   One can imagine my frustration at this point.

   I could not call California Choice because it was closed and did not have extended hours as I’ve been used to with other providers.

   Resigned, I decided to wait yet another day and call California Choice this morning.

   **

   I just got off the phone, and as if specifically trying to add insult to injury – they had a recording saying they are closed today because everybody there is on a Fun Trip to Catalina Island, and I would have to call back on Monday. I was a bit thrown back at the unprofessional chutzpah of having a customer service department for medical needs pretty much say: “sorry; we cannot help you today – we’re taking Friday off to party at Catalina Island.”

   You can imagine how this represented the straw the broke the camel’s back.

   I’ll just wait until Monday to hopefully get this sorted.

   I question a company that does not understand that broadcasting that your whole staff (including customer service) is out partying on a Friday…can be a very injurious action when your role is to support people for their medical needs. (with their already limited everyday hours)

   I would stay far far away….

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5. Lynette is awesome! I’m a broker and whenever I have questions or concerns she tackles them immediately! It really makes a difference in running my business. I can’t thank her enough!

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