Covered California is finally scrapping their error filled doctor search feature on their ACA enrollment website. Initially conceived to help match families with health plans that supported their current physicians, it had problems from the start. Covered California announced in a press release they will be taking their provider directory offline until further notice.
Error filled doctor finder feature
Shortly after the launch of the Covered California CalHEERS enrollment website the provider search was removed for a couple weeks. When it was brought back up I still found the same errors that originally plagued the data base of doctors such as physicians not listed as Board Certified or listed as speaking exotic languages like Arabic and Tagalog. Covered California admitted in their press release that some doctors were not actually “in-network” with the health plans listed.
Health plans didn’t even know their providers
It was amazing that Covered California was able to launch a provider directory online before several of the health plans even finalized and released their own network providers. Four months after the launch of the new health plans, the provider directories are still in a state of flux as physicians leave networks they were automatically included in by the health insurance company. Anthem Blue Cross didn’t even have their doctor finder feature working until December. (See: Covered California derailed, not wreck blog I posted on October 14 that notes the provider search problems)
No one listens at Covered California
If the PPO health plans couldn’t provide a solid list of physicians and hospitals for their new plans until December, I’m not sure how Covered California thought they could provide reliable information in their provider search. So how much time was consumed by new health plan members calling Covered California mad as heck that the website led them to select a plan that ultimately didn’t include their doctor? I distinctly remember notifying Covered California of the erroneous results their provider finder feature was displaying back in October.
KISS: Keep it simple stupid
Covered California tried to build too much into their enrollment website. The intention to really help consumers was good, but features like a flawed doctor search function, confusing pages determining how much health care you need and creating stand alone pediatric dental plans has just led to more misery and wasted time for both Californians and the exchange. Covered California obviously never heard of the start-up rule of KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.
Covered California press release taking provider search offline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Line: (916) 205-8403
Feb. 6, 2014
COVERED CALIFORNIA TAKES PROVIDER DIRECTORY OFFLINE – CONTINUES TO OFFER LINKS TO EACH PLAN’S PROVIDERS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California announced it will discontinue posting of a provider directory on its web site until further notice, after finding some errors in the physician lists.
While the combined provider directory was a useful service for many consumers, some enrollees located physicians thought to be in their plan, and subsequently discovered they were not.
Enrollees who selected a Covered California plan based on the provider directory on the exchange web site should contact the health insurance plan to verify the provider is in the network, or to ask for a different provider in their area. The plans will work with enrollees to resolve these situations on a case-by-case basis.
If enrollees find the resolution unsatisfactory, they can contact Covered California’s Service Center to cancel enrollment in their plan, and enroll in a different plan before the end of open enrollment period, March 31.
While Covered California will discontinue its combined provider directory, it will continue to support consumers to find providers, by supplying links to each health insurance plan’s provider directory. Consumers can link to specific plan directories by clicking on “View Directory” while previewing plans.
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