| Date Submitted: | February 1, 2010 |
| Insurance Provider: | Aetna in California |
| Coverage: | 4 out of 10 |
| Claims: | 1 out of 10 |
| Customer Service: | 1 out of 10 |
| Cost: | 2 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | No |
| Review: | AETNA is the worst 1) There is a total lack of transparency. 2) Billing is slow and tedious. 3) The bureaucracy is terrible. Prepare to take a half day of work to talk with them. 4) The online web system is out-dated, slow, poorly designed, and difficult to navigate. 5) They have very high deductibles. 6) I have a history of melanoma skin cancer in my family. This form of cancer is basically untreatable, except with early detection and surgery. After following the growth of one of my moles for two years, the doctor recommended that I get it removed and sampled. They billed me over $500 total. 7) They will nickle and dime you. They will bill you for several different aspects of a visit and charge you copays for all of them. Your $10 copay can quickly turn into a $40-50 bill. 8) Even if you call ahead to find out how much something will cost - what they tell you on the phone, won't be what shows up on the bill. If you have them, always try to get something in writing. 9) After being very careful and calling ahead multiple times, choosing a professional through their online system, and having the professional provide written proof of my guaranteed coverage, now they are trying to charge me over $600. They claim the only way I can fight it is by going through a snail mail system of sending letters back and forth. We live in the 21st century - by now e-mail or the phone should be standard. There is no where that you can go, drive up, and speak to a person about your problems. They hide themselves behind a callous bureaucracy. Insurance companies like this deserve to be put in prison for life. Over the past year and half, I have had bad luck with my health and have been forced to use the health insurance system and I'm am sorely disappointed with AETNA. I will most definitely be transferring to Kaiser as soon as possible. Do yourself a favor and check out these other horror stories before you sign up with them: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=121454616144&ref=ts Plus - check out this informed blog on the terrible things that AETNA does - in particular read the posts about ERISA legislation - that will scare you: http://www.aetna-sucks.info/ Under ERISA, basically, even if you have insurance, they can simply deny you coverage if they think it will be expensive and the only thing you can sue them for is the premiums you paid over the years. "Even if benefits are improperly denied, the insurance company cannot be sued for any resulting injury or wrongful death, regardless of whether it acted in bad faith in denying benefits. Insurers operating ERISA plans enjoy several immunities not available to other types of insurance companies. ERISA preempts all conflicting state laws, including state statutes prohibiting unfair claims practices and causes of action arising under state common law for insurance bad faith.[3] There is no right to a jury trial in ERISA benefits actions.[4] Although Americans normally take for granted the right to testify on their behalf, plaintiffs have no right to present live testimony in ERISA bench trials, in which the judge simply reads through the documents which formed the record originally before the ERISA plan administrator and performs de novo review.[5] Finally, punitive damages are not allowed in actions for ERISA benefits.[6]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_Retirement_Income_Security_Act |
| Submitted by: | Aetna is the Devil 25 year-old :: Female Reviewer :: Menlo Park, CA, USA |
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