I got a new insurance card in the mail about a week ago showing a different doctor’s name as my primary care provider. I didn’t switch to a new doctor and didn’t even know this person. I called Blue Shield today to find out why this had happened and they said my doctor had switched to a different medical group–not a different insurance company, but a different group under that insurance company. Okay, so I asked them to switch me to that group which they assured me they could do. The person from the insurance company came back on the line telling me she could make the switch, but my doctor is not accepting new patients. I explained that I am not a new patient and had been going to him for over 10 years. The insurance person said she would call my doctor’s office and they most likely would approve me for the switch. The answer was no.

I called the doctor’s office after hanging up with Blue Shield and they told me the same thing, that they were no longer accepting new patients under this new group. When I mentioned the fact that I had been seeing them for over 10 years, she said I could continue with them but only if I agreed to switch from an HMO to a PPO plan. Are you kidding me?! They’ll let me continue to come to them provided I pay more to do so.

No thanks. I’ll be finding a new doctor.