UHC vs BCBS ACA plan for 2024
I live in Chicago and am self-employed. I get a significant ACA subsidy. I currently have the UHC Bronze Value HSA but am considering switching to the BCBS Blue FocusCare Bronze plan for 2024. BCBS is about $1,000 a year cheaper in premiums but the UHC plan is HSA eligible and the tax savings there is about $500.
My PCP is retiring in the middle of 2024. I think I could find a new well-regarded PCP near me with either plan. The BCBS plan might have a better overall network, but it’s hard to say.
I’d probably switch to the BCBS plan without hesitation except for a couple of things. The first is that I have a couple of known procedures coming in 2024. One is a colonoscopy–I had one a couple of years ago at 45 and they removed 4 non-cancerous polyps so I need to go back in next year. The other is I had a lesion on my shoulder that the dermatologist cut out, but it hasn’t healed quite right. I saw him again in early November and we made an appointment for January at that time….I suspect he’ll need to do a little cutting into it then. So this complicates matters in 2 ways for BCBS:
I’m not sure how I’ll get charged for this stuff with BCBS. When I contacted the gastroenterologist who did my last colonoscopy and who is in-network for both plans because the facility he uses (his own facility) isn’t listed as in-network, I was told that they don’t charge a separate facility fee, just the doctor’s charge. So I’m not sure how that would come out with BCBS. I can’t imagine I would only be charged the $150 for outpatient professional services? For the derm thing, would I just get charged $105 for the visit and $150 for the procedure? If so that’s reasonable though I suspect I’d get charged less by UHC.
Since my current PCP is not accepting new patients, if I switch to BCBS I can’t assign him as my PCP and have write a new referral for me for the derm and the colonoscopy. My current PCP says I can get a new PCP assigned to me and then ask them for a “courtesy referral” for those things without actually going in for an appointment. I just wonder if the new PCP will be willing to do that. I guess I could call up the PCP I’d look to switch to and ask them. If I stay with UHC this is a non-issue as my current PCP can remain my PCP until he retires anyway, and I can get him to write the referrals.
Here’s some of the important plan details. Comments welcome! Thanks for the help!
Edit: oh no, I used the table function in Reddit, but it didn’t come out. Let me try and fix it!
OK best I could do is make a picture of the table comparing the plans here!
