Annual healthcare enrollment is coming up, and company is changing providers from United Healthcare to either BCBS, Cigna or Aetna. I have only experience with UnitedHealthcare. Anyone have opinions/experiences with these other 3?

when I was at Deloitte I had Aetna PPO.. we had a really good experience with them over the 7 years through a number of relatively large medical situations.. we did have a really good plan though so not sure how that would impact the service we received (i.e. twins in NICU for 3.5 months only cost me $100 out of pocket)

Where is your company located? Doctor networks really vary by city. BCBS is probably strongest across Texas but other networks are strong in some cities too.

BTW, I'm starting a company that helps people and businesses choose health plans using data. We have our individual tool up if you want to poke around and see which plans might fit you better. You can search for your doctors and we can tell you which networks he or she is in.

Here's the link: Take Command Health

We're also piloting some group tools. They aren't public yet but if you or your company need help, we might be able to provide some analysis for you. PM me if you're interested.

Company just changed to Blue Cross. I am not a fan. Only 2 "Urgent Cares" are considered in Network in San Antonio and I am paying 15% more than the previous carrier for the same plan.

I've had all four over the work career. I thought UHC was the best, BCBS sucked. Cigna and Aetna are on par with each other, I think Cigna is a little better. Just seemed like for me that Cigna and UHC were easier to get things done with.

The answer will vary a lot by city and state. Healthcare is very local.

BCBS was great back in the day, at least in So-Cal. Worked for Sumitomo Heavy Industries and we actually had BCBS & Aetna both at the same time: one was primary, the other secondary. While at Macsteel here in Houston, we had BCBS and they were great, but then when we merged with Namasco to form Kloeckner, we got switched to Cigna and after a learning curve, everything is good. I'm a little uptight about some things that are covered and not covered, but at my age I'm not to worried about lets say pregnancy issues, since neither of us are productive members of society, if you catch my drift, vs some people that are. The deductibles are a little steep in some cases, but that is a result of what your employer is paying on their end and what they want to cover and to what degree. Klein ISD uses UHC and they are terrible- way costly- so my wife is covered in my plan.

To drift off topic a tad, if your employer provides access to a Flex Plan, enroll in it and use it to the fullest degree you can. With deductibles out of whack and premiums rising, a flex plan comes in handy

I've had BCBS for years, and never had any issues.

Like others mentioned, it can be fairly regional, and I live in the SE, but it's been great.

Also, I know BCBS has a fitness plan that allows me to pay BCBS $30 a month and use any of the gyms in their network, nationwide (no limit to how many you can be a member at...I'm a member at the Y ((great pool)), anytime fitness, and another local gym right next to the office, all covered by the $30 a month).

So, aside from straight coverage, you might also check for other little perks like that.

I think it depends more on the details of the plan than the company. At least that has been my experience as we have cycled through different plans/companies as my wife has changed jobs (I am self employed so we always go through her.)

Right now we are on a really good BCBS policy. Low deductible and pretty much good coverage on everything we have had to use it for.

We've had Aetna for years and were fine. I switched to the BCBS high deductible this year because the price was lower than my Aetna HD plan from last year. We're also bumping up the HSA contributions as well. I did call EVERY one of my wife's docs to make sure they were in the plan.

Hate UHC Love BCBS
no opinion of the others