I have some promising news to report this month. Your POB leadership is finally beginning to have some positive outcomes with problems many of our retirees have experienced with the transition to Blue Shield CA at the beginning of the year. It’s been a very busy and hectic few months, with the POB leadership team meeting regularly with SFHSS and Blue Shield California principals to iron out the many complaints from our retirees we have been fielding. In a positive development, the SFHSS and BSC group has now agreed to meet with us regularly to resolve many of these outstanding – and egregious – situations.
Since January 1, 2025, we have heard from hundreds of you about the issues you are facing – pharma co-pays going through the roof, prior authorizations being denied, prescription issues, gym memberships and delayed and denied reimbursements. One member was even denied his ongoing cancer treatment. Another member was denied for ongoing prostrate issues five times, but once we intervened, the case was finally resolved. In fact, most of the cases we have referred to SFHSS and BSC are in the process of being resolved.
In the meantime, continue to send us your stories, with documentation, and we will refer them to BSC for resolution or bring them up at our regular ongoing meetings. If it can’t wait, learn how to file an expedited appeal, here: https://protectourbenefits.org/how-to-file-an-expedited-appeal/
We look forward to continuing to serve you and make sure we are protecting your hard-earned benefits!
Fred Sanchez
Protect Our Benefits
President