Please be advised that The Consolidated Appropriations Act, (CAA) 2021 became Public Law 116-260. One of the key provisions of the CAA is The No Surprises Act which protects employees and dependents from surprise balance bills from out-of-network (OON) providers in certain situations and provides that BlueCross BlueShield (BCSAZ) process the claim.
In the past, BCBSAZ processed claims and then paid the member who was then responsible for paying the OON provider. This historically had caused much confusion with members as they did not know why they were receiving checks from BCBSAZ. Often times the member would cash the check and then would receive a large invoice from the provider and they did not understand why. Going forward, BCBSAZ will be sending payments for out-of-network (OON) or non-contracted providers directly to providers (not to the employee).
The CAA has also mandated some changes to ID Cards issued upon renewal as noted below. BCBSAZ confirmed that all members will receive a new ID card, that are being ordered today. They anticipate most members will begin receiving them this weekend.
Changes to BCBSAZ ID Cards
