Dual Insurance Issues – Kaiser HMO and Anthem PPO

I am the primary on insurance with Kaiser and I had my husband add me to his employer's PPO this year as I wanted to see a non-Kaiser dermatologist, psychiatrist, and possibly deliver a baby at a non-Kaiser hospital. I first had an issue with billing from the dermatologist (tbd on if that'll resolve and be paid by Anthem, as I always knew it was out of network with Kaiser) and then was told by the psychiatry office they won't see me unless I get a referral from Kaiser, even though they are in network with Anthem (I know how an HMO works, so I don't need an explanation on why they asked for a referral).

From reviewing the posts here it seems like I misunderstood the value in having two insurances, basically meaning that the PPO is useless to me and sadly just throwing money away. Am I missing something or does anyone have tips on how to actually get value out of their secondary insurance provider?

submitted by /u/Tibs-Cranberry565
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