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Excellus

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LAST UPDATED: April 24th, 2024

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is a BCBS subsidiary. 

Excellus's plans are available in upstate New York.

Read Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Reviews

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The Good

  • Range of Health Plan Offerings
  • Individual and Family Plan Features
  • Employer Health Insurance Plan Features
  • Convenient Resources

Range of Health Plan Offerings

Excellus specializes in upstate New York health insurance. As a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield, Excellus meets many expectations in terms of the health plans it offers. 

It does not limit plans to just one format or one type of coverage. Rather, it has a variety of common plans and state-specific plans. 

Its offerings include Medicare plan options (e.g Medicare Advantage plans), group plans employers can offer employees, and individual or family health plans. Small, mid-size, and large businesses can find group plans through Excellus.

Specific plan availability can vary by county, so check Excellus's website to learn more about what's offered in your area.

It's common for health insurers to offer multiple kinds of plans to meet the needs of many. 

Excellus's range of insurance products makes it competitive.

Individual and Family Plan Features

Excellus's individual and family health plans have several helpful features including telemedicine access, prescription home delivery, and BlueCard®.

Telemedicine access is becoming a common offering among health insurers, so Excellus is in line with industry trends.

In contrast, prescription home delivery is more common with Medicare plans. The inclusion of prescription home delivery with individual and family plans is convenient for plan members and makes Excellus stand out from other insurers.

BlueCard® access also makes Excellus's plans stand out. With BlueCard®, you have access to a nationwide network while traveling. Emergency care is also covered throughout the world. It's more common for health plans to have local provider networks, not national networks. 

The BlueCard® feature makes an Excellus health plan advantageous if you travel frequently or are planning on traveling.

Employer Health Insurance Plan Features

Excellus also offers helpful features with its employer-sponsored plans. These features include access to support from health professionals, health management programs, and self-care tools. 

Employers can also offer voluntary benefits through Excellus, though online information about these benefits is limited.

It's common in the industry to offer support programs, so Excellus's offering is in line with industry trends.

Convenient Resources

Like most BCBS subsidiaries, Excellus provides plenty of convenient resources. You can view Medicare, individual, and family health plans available in your area online. 

Excellus's website offers tools for finding dentists, doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies, too. This directory tool makes it easy to quickly find in-network providers and is a common offering among health insurers.

You can also find information on Excellus's website about using telehealth and telemedicine to receive non-emergency care.

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The Bad

  • Limited Customer Reviews
  • 2013 Hack
  • Only in New York

Limited Customer Reviews

Best Company has not received many customer reviews of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, so conclusions about the customer experience and customer satisfaction are not available.

2013 Hack

Excellus experienced a hack in 2013 that affected over 10 million of its members. It disclosed the information to members in 2015. In 2021, a $5.1 million settlement was reached. 

If you are interested in working with Excellus, it's a good idea to ask for details on how Excellus protects your personal information.

Only in New York

Excellus health plans are only available to customers in certain counties of upstate New York, which means the customer base is extremely limited here. For people living in this area, that could be a huge advantage since Excellus specializes in their region. But for all other health insurance customers, this company isn't available.

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The Bottom Line

Although more customer insight would be helpful, Excellus plans are worth exploring further because they offer competitive features including support programs and prescription home delivery. 

Excellus is not the only insurer to be hacked. However, it's worth asking the insurance company what security measures it has taken to secure member information before enrolling in a health plan.

One condition, of course, for Excellus being a good option is for you to live in upstate New York to even qualify for their service. If you do, then Excellus has so much to offer, including health incentives, free preventative care with all health plans, and a long company history to boot.

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Star Rating

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6 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

33%

4 grade

17%

3 grade

0%

2 grade

0%

1 grade

50%

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Quality

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Review Source

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Elisabeth Cavanaugh Rochester, NY

Terrible service. My dentist referred me to a specialist for a root canal and there is noone in my area who accepts this insurance. The company is taking forever to give a pre approval so that I can try to find someone to take care of my tooth. In the meantime they say that if I get it taken care of before the pre approval I might have to just pay for it myself because they didn't approve the procedure. So I am stuck in pain with my tooth getting worse and worse while they do nothing. I have spent countless hours on the phone asking if there is anything that can be done so that I can get my tooth taken care of and they continue to talk in circles about needing the pre approval to go through before any other steps can be taken. Better off with no insurance at all that with this insurance.

8 months ago

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Phil W

I have been a customer for 25 years. They have paid my bills promptly and the few times i have contacted them, they were very cordial and helpful.

6 months ago

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Dee Farquharson Washington, DC

Disclaimer: I had this insurance under my parent. Coverage was good. My only issue was I never got to see a doctor, only a nurse practitioner. Copays were low, compared to other insurances (which I learned later). Again, I was under my parents', so I cant spoke to cost.

5 years ago

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H CY Plattsburgh, NY

Reimburses nothing despite a $900 monthly premium. I was sent by my PMD for an echo. Hospital fee was $3000 and they paid only $150. Would have been better off having zero insurance and paying out of pocket. If you’re smart, you will avoid them like the plague.

1 year ago

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David Rochester, NY

My drug copay in 2018 was $2,000.00 (projected to be $2600.00 in 2019). Excellus is $700.00

5 years ago

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Anne (Anne) Canajoharie, NY

Worst customer service experience ever. I have to use their insurance as it‘s the agency with which my employer contracts. They’re awful.

1 year ago Edited November 27, 2023