Account was set up on auto pay to my debit card, however my card was never charged and my coverage was terminated due to non-payment. Although they claim they sent out a letter advising me of the termination, no such letter was received. I only found out I did not have health insurance after a NEUROLOGY OFFICE called on the day of my appointment to tell me that they were informed by community health options that my coverage had been canceled. Called CHO up, and was told what happened, however because I was now outside the 30 day grace period, I now had to wait to sign up until open enrollment in November. I will never do business with these people again!!!

Despite having autopay set up, they never charged my account and closed it without notification. I went without health insurance without knowing for several months. I called to fix the problem and was assured the policy was reinstated- it was not. Now I have to pay $1K for a medical bill and I have had no health insurance since at least April and they said that there was no record of any of my calls.To top it off, these policies are incredibly expensive for how little you actually get.

The company I work for switched health care providers a year ago. I wish we hadnt. They are trying to charge me 5 times out of pocket what Harvard Pilgram was. I called them and asked why it was so high and what I could do. They basically tried getting me to do mail in orders, saying the would lower the price if I used there pharmacy. Due to work I am never home, this is not an option. They are playing with our health and money and its not okay. Stay far away from this insurance if possible!

Absolute trash of an insurance company. Avoid like the plague. As with others leaving reviews, my credit card payment lapsed due to an expired card. Nobody got ahold of me and my insurance was cancelled without my knowing.

I was a MCHO member from January 2017 till December 2020 because few options were available for Maine residents when Obamacare became available. I was always frustrated with MCHO from day one over many things: super long phone wait times the first 1 1/2 years, high premium costs vs other states, and inability to autopay premiums to a credit card (bank account only). So the past 3 years, I paid my premiums using Bill Pay from my bank but mistakenly overpaid in December 2020. At the same time did not renew my MCHO membership for 2021, so I called December 31, 2020 to request a refund of the overpaid premium and was told a check would be processed. It’s now 3 weeks and I still haven’t received a refund. After a 2nd call on January 20, I was told it actually takes 45-60 days to process refunds. Whaaaaattt? MCHO, your inefficiency amazes me. Know this: my husband and I will never return to MCHO, nor recommend your services to anyone.

I have asthma. I use a maintenance inhaler twice a day to control my symptoms. It is now costing me $580. every 90 days for this medication due to my deductible being over $6,000. I did my own research and found a generic inhaler that could cost as low as $49 and still offers the same benefits as my current inhaler. I called Express Scripts to ask if it would be covered and was told that because it is a non-preferred medication that it would actually cost me $845. every 90 days. Is the cost higher because you wont make as much money on the non-preferred medication? I thought this was a non-profit company? Please explain. According to the customer service rep at Express Scripts, the cheapest alternative to my current medication would cost me $480 or about $2,000 per year. Thank god Ill be eligible for Medicare by the end of this year.

I was denied preventative screening coverage that has been provided by every other insurance company that I have ever used. They hide behind a flimsy website that does not advise its users that the coverage does not exist. Regrettably all I can do is give this company one star and hope that if you are an employer choosing insurance companies, that you do not choose Community Health Options.

I m feeling this company is terrible for overall services;long wait to speak to someone else then transfer back and forth regarding billing issue. Because of Obama care and he has to buy his own health insurance to avoid penalize. He has been using this insurance awhile and always paying $69.87 with credit tax subsidy. In this year Jan, my first statement received is zero balance following by Feb total charged of $1347.74. We were so surprised no additional letter and phone explained or notify why is this. Until took so much time to speak with a proper person explained technology issue then removed to $673.87. This is an individual charge and why would my brother wants an insurance charge him so HIGH while he never use it at all. We questioned why then advised because he has no tax credit subsidy then we requested to cancel it. If that’s the case should they need to notify the insurer or send out notification whether or not to continue. The worst is we want to cancel it immediately we noticed it and they dare asked the responsible for $400 because the new month kick in and have to pay that 10 days. Seriously is this a scam to focus people without agreement or notification. I highly recommend everyone not to use this company and please shop around.

Great customer service and competitive plan pricing.

I have had very good experiences with this provider so far. Im not sure how anyone can claim to discover certain providers are not covered in-network, since the marketplace is designed to select only options that cover what you ask it to. Because of this, the medications I have been on, and the specialists I have being seeing for years, as well as new ones that I am interested in, are all covered. No issues with proof of coverage either. My only small complaints are that my premium went up by about 15% this calendar year, and that the member portal has been down for several days which has forced me to use the particularly slow automated phone service.

Ive been with Community Health Options ever since the ACA was enacted and, up until this point, Ive had no issues and had been happy with their coverage. One of the benefits that drew me to this plan for the last three years was affordable access to mental health services, with a manageable copay. Today, while calling about an unrelated service, I had asked about something strange on my statements regarding my counseling learned that mental health services are this year considered towards my deductible instead of copay. While Lynn at Claims was as helpful and pleasant as one can expect in that position, there was nothing she could do to advise me what to do. I could have chalked that up to missing a line in the change of policy -- though this was the same policy according to my ACA page that I had last year -- except that when I called the billing department of my counseling provider, they had no record of the change in policy either. Overall, Im disappointed that Community Health Options relegated mental health services as services to go towards deductible rather than a copay.

UPDATED: I originally gave these guys a good review (below) but have since become very frustrated with them. The people we get on the phone seem to be clueless now. All we get is a standard I dont know, the provider must have coded it wrong. Goodbye!They wanted to be better than the big insurance companies, but they have become just as difficult to deal with. Its a shame.Original review:Im not sure why there are so many negative reviews. I have called them several times over the past 18 months and I have never waited on hold, always talked to pleasant people, and all but one was able to answer my questions fully (the one who couldnt answer my questions found the answers and called me back.)Overall the only thing that hasnt been excellent is their notices, which are difficult to decipher (just like every other insurance company Ive ever been with, and Ive been with them all over the years.)Compared to other companies these guys are amazing. They actually care what members think and try to actually provide good service which is very rare.You guys rock.

A big thank you to Sue! Impeccable customer service. Thank you!

Ive been a member since CHOs inception and have had generally positive experiences, but I have been trying to contact the help people with questions for over 2 weeks and have not been able to get through even after waiting 20 minutes or more. You desperately need to either add phone answers or better yet, offer the service where your people can call us back when theyre free. The amount of time youre costing your customers on hold is not treating them with the respect your greeting suggests.

Wonderful customer service and a good plan. I spoke to the same man two days in a row, we were disconnected the first day and I was lucky enough to be reconnected with him again the next. He assisted me in going over a letter of approval for a procedure and he was patient, knowledgeable and kind. The unknown cost of a coming medical procedure is extremely stressful and I was hesitant to go through with due to that uncertainty. This man also recommended external resources to assist me in estimating the potential cost. With his help, I was able to estimate the cost of the proceeded within 5 dollars. His customer service was exceptional and this experience will encourage me to make it a priority to stay with Community Health Options.

Lied about coverage. Said became part of the orphan group and all coverage was lost repeatedly. Took payment for 2 months and covered nothing. Nancy from there is an absolute idiot and lies to you just to get you to stop calling her. Finally her answer was I dont know what to do. Comforting huh. Screwed up 1095a so bad it took 4 months to get it corrected. Go elsewhere,we did and we love it. Total bunch of idiots in it for the money. Currently sitting on bills we paid insurance coverage for that were kicked back. Thats OK we have bank statements showing they took payment then never covered anything. If you want a great big screw around and to always be on the phone trying to fix things then this is the place for you. If not, move on.

My insurance was cancelled without my knowledge or permission. I am not sure why the insurance was cancelled. Health Options claims it was the marketplace that sent them a cancellation notice, and the marketplace says they didnt send anything. Regardless, my insurance was cancelled and to top it off, I was never told. I found out only when I got a refund check, after a month of being uninsured. On a positive note, the customer service line is usually easy to access and the people are nice. I am hoping the company will set things right and I can change my review.

Terrible insurance company. They dont pay for anything and then surprise you with bills almost a year after the appointment. I am happy they no longer serve NH and I dont have the option of using them again. Do not do business with this company. You can find someone to better serve you.

Im sorry, but this is a terrible health insurance provider. Often links on my member website dashboard dont work and havent been working for the last half year. Calling them requires your patience, you might have to wait for an hour. the documents are not as clear as my former provider and the difficulty to reach is disappointing. i have to pay my individual plan out of my own pocket and it would be nice to reach your provider easily and have at least the website work properly.

If you love spending an hour on hold only to be told that no one really knows why your doctors visits are not being paid for despite you being covered, then this is the insurance for you.If you enjoy having to leave work early to deal with the mess that they constantly create, then youll love this insurance company.If your goal is to feel disrespected on the phone by snappy employees who constantly cut you off when youve waited for an HOUR on hold, then you will feel right at home.If you like to hear there was a mistake, an error happened regularly, or if you just like negligence and incompetence in general, then definitely get this health insurance.

On hold for well over 30 minutes, on multiple occasions. Finally, when connected with a customer service representative, I am unable to receive an answer as to why my daughters visits with her primary care doctor are no longer covered. We have been with Maine Community Health Options since inception and were (previously) happy customers, however this year there has been an inexplicable and precipitous drop in coverage and accessibility. I concur with others, we will be switching to a different carrier next year. Extremely disappointed.

The service is incredible!!. Each person that has helped us has been thorough, kind, knowledgeable, and so very helpful with each question and step. We are so thankful and grateful to have affordable health insurance and a company that takes time to truly help their customers. We are recommending MCHO to everyone we know. Thank you Maine Community Health Options for EVERYTHING!!!

They were generous last year when I needed healthcare coverage. I really didnt pay much out of pocket. I dont know where I would be without them. On the downside, I am not permitted to log in on their website. My payments have always been up to date and I dont understand this.

Ive had an insurance plan through this company for the past year and am very satisfied with them. In fact, I have no complaints at all. Theyve covered everything they said they would (and more), have been helpful on the phone, and everything I needed has been done on a timely basis. My one big complaint is that theyre leaving the NH market next year, so I wont be able to stay wth them, which is very disappointing.

This company has allowed me be proactive about my health for two years now. They have consistently been helpful getting in touch with me when anything was changing and they even let one of my care providers join their network so I would be covered. I have found that I cant always login to things I need on the website but Ive always been able to reach someone on the phone to take of whatever I was trying to do. Having health insurance through this co-op has allowed me to be healthier than Ive ever been as an adult getting the care I need without being afraid I will go broke getting it.

THIS COMPANY IS A JOKE. I will never renew with this company. Every time i call it is a minimum of 60 minute wait...The only way i can get a hold of customer service to do something as simple as a billing inquiry, is to go through my insurance broker. I told him NEVER renew with this joke of a company. Customer service is nonexistent ... i havent been able to get a human being to answer a call yet, I would much rather pay more money to be able to talk to a customer service rep.

Im surprised to see so many negative reviews. This coverage has far outshone every other insurance plan Ive had. They cover all medications I need 100%, they let me see specialists without a referral, their definition of covered free preventative care is far broader than any other plan, and they are always super helpful on the phone. Other plans have made me jump through a hundred hoops to get the care I need. This plan has so far covered everything I need. Other plans look less expensive but with the number of things they dont cover CHO turns out to be the cheaper plan. This is just my experience.

Coverage is decent, though so much more expensive now. My biggest complaints are to do with technological issues. The website is particularly bad, I have not been able to log in for several months on any device I own. Prior to October of last year I had not experienced this problem. During the most recent enrollment period I was never actually able to log in and compare plans. I‘ve mentioned this in numerous calls, and nothing has changed. It is frustrating to pay so much money each month and not even be able to log into my account. Everyone I’ve spoken to is polite, and attempts to be helpful, which I appreciate. I wish Community Health options could get things sorted from a tech perspective.

If you can avoid Community Health Options, please do. I have had a horrendous experience with this company. Theyve messed up my internal profile so claims were being denied, long wait times when you call and no option to leave a call back number, and awful web portal. I recently called and before pressing any buttons or speaking to anyone I was hit with a scammy offer for something completely unrelated to insurance. It was worth the extra money to switch to another company and I will never go back.

Paid all of my premiums on time for two years through the auto payment service, they recently went through a change with their automatic payments that reverted my account to an expired card. After going through the process and updating my account successfully (so I thought) they continued to charge and get declined on an expired debit card.I recently decided to check up on my account realizing I was now close to a thousand dollars past due. Baffled, I tried calling to speak with a representative only to get put on a 45 minute call waiting cycle. If I didnt hang up by then, the waiting line would do it for you with a Good Bye click.Finally got through to a representative today to pay the outstanding balance in full. Apparently, Ive now been terminated from the policy and they wont take my money. No call, no alert, no email. I can see why their reviews are terrible the only offer they gave me was to wait for the re-enrollment period, until then dont get sick.Thank you Maine Community Health Options!

Great company, very helpful! I had to work with them about some testing I needed done and the nurse I spoke with was so helpful in explaining why some was approved and other stuff could not be. I felt heard!

Every time I call Im on hold for over 45 minutes waiting to speak to someone.Before I signed on with them to be my provider I double checked to ensure my medication for Crohns disease would be covered. They said it would be because it is mail order. Now that I am a customer, and trying to order my medication, I was told it is not covered. I have been on the phone with them for week and a half still with no results. Im a week and a half over due for my dose. Its not going to be cheaper than my medication to pay for me having an operation and a month in the hospital.

Youd think that they would make paying your bill as easy as possible, yet, for some reason, its the most frustrating process Ive ever encountered. First, they failed to send any documentation regarding our MemberID, to get our ID we had to wait on hold for over an hour while trying to hear the indecipherable robot call man, then, their online card payment system failed to recognize ANY valid card. This company needs to get their technology out of the dark ages before something goes horribly wrong.

Straight-forward great coverage from a Maine company. I am so grateful for their coverage and the great customer service. They have done an amazing job navigating the ACA transition and providing a great insurance product for all Mainers. THANK YOU

Coverage for 2017 was GREAT, cheapest RX copay Ive ever even heard of. Then in 2018 all but one of my meds was covered. I called just to double check coverage. Had to switch policies to a different company. Super bummed out.I am unsure how to cancel my policy online. Im waiting on hold as I type this listening to annoying music. Im supposed to be writing an application for a job.I dont like being a dick but I would not recommend this insurance provider at this time.

Updated 10/16: This has been a good company for us and Im sure it will continue to be a good company. But... With new enrollment all plan prices are increasing. For us, with subsidy, not by that much, but MCHO which has been lowest in price, will now be the high priced provider considering feature by feature. This time around, after two years with them, the difference is dramatic enough that I will have to change to another provider. Even Harvard Pilgrim, which has been the high priced one is less.--------------------Original postHad them for a year now. Good coverage, good service, good price (as far as insurance can be)

Paying over $300 a month and apparently on grace period without receiving a notification, and nothing i needed for an intensive surgery was covered. have been paying off that bill - over $8,000 - since June. horrible service.

Some of the worst customer service Ive ever experienced... 36 minutes on hold to ask, what should have been, a simple question about my billing account. My family subscribes to a gold plan and I really just wanted to pay the bill. They even manage to make that difficult!

If I had given this rating 3 yrs ago it would have been 5 stars hands down (Platinum Plan), but since then rates have gone up and coverage has decreased. I have severe RA. When I was first diagnosed my medications were easily obtained and my chiropractic visits were covered therefore limiting the number of times I needed a Dr.s apt. This year this company decided not allow co-pay cards to go towards my max out of pocket expense. Well in case you are unaware there is a max amount available on a Xeljanz co-pay card ($15,000 per year). My co-pay for this medication is around $2800, double what I make in a month. With the co-pay card I can afford my medication for 5 months out of 12. After all the injections and pills I have tried Xeljanz is the drug that has worked. So for 5 months out of the year I get to feel almost normal, while the other 7 months I can barely function. I also have an allotted number of chiropractic visits so I am unable to even get minor amounts of relief as I have to ration those now too. I am 30yrs old, but feel like I am 75. I have to work full time to be able to survive, and yet this insurance provided by my job is responsible for crippling me.

Maybe its good if you live in Maine but for people outside finding a doctor and getting good coverage is a challenge My employer is in Maine so I have to use First Health and somewhere along the line everything comes back as out of Network even when it was IN NETWORK!

I have now twice requested a cancellation form because I switched plans this year. I was on hold for 55 minutes before anyone was available to speak to. She said she would email me the cancellation form and I still have not received it! I have however been billed for two policies!! My providers run into issues with this company as well and bills have to be returned and resolved. For the money this company receives and what it pays out, one would think they could afford to provide better service and at least answer the damn phone.

They have gone to hell in a handbasket. They now require PAs for Saline. SALINE?!?! Yup. No reason whatsoever to do that other than to give them the ability to deny claims. Their retro PA policy is such that it is impossible to get a retro PA anymore as one would have to apply for it essentially before they even realized they needed it. Their PA policy is now ridiculous and limited to 60 days on everything. That means instead of one PA a year your provider will have to fill out 6! They are hoping that one of those PA requests gets hung up or falls through the cracks every year, that way they wont have to pay.....and you, your provider/hospital will have to foot the bill. BTW, their argument for this change is that they were forced to pay for services on a Termed patient because they had a year long PA. I would love to see documentation of that because every PA I have ever seen has a ton of boiler plate attached to it to protect them. I am unable to find any instance where a company had to PAY CLAIMS on a termed patient after the fact because of a PA. Utter nonsense!I advise anyone with this coverage to jump ship at the earliest opportunity. IF at all possible providers and hospitals should consider not accepting them as insurance. They are clearly going out of business, and these decisions are only going to accelerate the collapse.

Our son enrolled without a hitch. Assistance was ably provided by the call center located in Fort Kent where staff were knowledgeable and courteous. Great experience all around.

Repeated errors and issues with them. An important form was never mailed to me and now have to deal with the IRS. Im less than pleased! I set up paper billing/correspondence for a reason. If you can avoid this company do it.

All services and even medications that are paid for out-of-pocket are routinely denied. This company has been booted from every state except Maine, and it is only the business friendly political environment that allows them to function here. Be warned.

They usually do a pretty good job, yet somehow, paying my premium in next to impossible. The online payment system has never worked for me, in the three plus years Ive had coverage. On top of that, they dont take credit cards. All I want is a recurring payment I dont have to think about, and they wont even do that over the phone.

Evil company. Im going through a bad divorce and they are refusing to reinstate my insurance because of a late payment. I have 2 children. I have had a gold plan and want to pay them a good amount of money to keep my policy going!!! Ive heard they are doing badly. Youd think theyd want me to continue to be a customer. I guess Harvard Pilgrim, here I come.

Its now the 7th. My doctor offices and pharmacy can not access my insurance. I also cant access the website because it is not found. Also should have access to customer service on weekends. My first impression is very low. Your company was my only option marketplace.

Shocked, appalled, and dismayed with Community Health Options. This insurance company will not protect you if you actually fall ill. I am 39, turning 40 this month, and they did not cover a doctor ordered diagnostic mammogram/ultrasound. Why? Because Im not yet 40. So I now have a $1200 bill (in addition to the over $1200 we faithfully pay for our monthly bronze plan). Also, you will have to wait at LEAST 30 minutes to speak with a person on the phone and they are not helpful. Terrible service.

Was forced to sign up for insurance and this appeared to be the best option for us or our government was going to embezzle money from me. Signed up with them paid the initial payment of over $650.00.My wife and I went to a seminar that they hosted which was absolutely useless. After they had our money we never received anything from them at all, no bill, no cards nothing. After about six weeks I get a letter from them stating they were being cancelling for non-payment. We never got any literature from them period. just figured the first big payment paid the first 2 months. Called them and tried to explain and they would have nothing to do with me.DO NOT CHOOSE THIS COMPANY. I will allow the federal government to embezzle from me instead

Great insurance company with exceptional customer service! Best part is that its a local co-op!

I have been a member for 4 years and I have to say to have gone down hill with service. I have been trying to call to speak to someone about getting a referral for a Doctor appt, and I have been on hold 40 minutes the first time and now again so far 20 minutes and still holding. How can you run a business like that? I see from the other reviews that they have the same problem, what is wrong with your company? Pretty soon you won’t have a company. I guess next year I will choose a different company that cares about their customers. Bye bye!

They refused to let me log in to their site. Their screen lies and tells me that they emailed my password when they did not and I did NOT set up my email to throw messages away so it isnt my fault. I was also kept on hold for 15 minutes just like some other posters here. At this time, I do not even have a copy of my insurance plan so I cant even see what services are covered outside basic care. They were much nicer when the social worker at my health clinic called them and they offered good information on the phone. Im still waiting for them to follow through with calling me back. This goes to show that you have to go through your provider to solve the problem of non-communication.

I just got this health insurance, I was desperate, I went through healthcare.gov and chose this plan however, I’m feeling immediate regret. Money is very tight for me, so as a Christmas present my parents paid my premium so I can get seen and receive the medications I need. I went 13 days with my coverage, the payment was “all set”. My appointment was the 10th, and I called the day before and the day of my appointment to make sure everything was okay and the women I spoke with assured me everything was fine and I was all set, I had this vibe that something would go wrong knowing my luck, and sure enough, I got paid Friday and was able to go to my pharmacy on Saturday, when suddenly the pharmacist told me my insurance came up Expired? When she called the number they wouldn’t do anything to help and of course it being a weekend when I called nobody was available. I was obviously in panic mode because my Medicine HAD to be started ASAP the latest on Sunday and of course, I had to wait until Monday (today) to get it situated. If the medicine were cheap enough I would’ve just bought it myself but we were talking over $100. It took all day, I wish I were joking. At that point I was hysterical, all to find out that whoever typed in the card information put in ONE wrong number. How does this happen? I’m not sticking with this company..this is a huge red flag.

02/17/16 - an addendum to my review down below - I have now tried at least TEN times to make my premium payment online (I have always made my premium payments online and it ALWAYS takes 3 or 4 tries to get to the proper screen to get the payment to go through but eventually I can make the payment) - the website is getting worse and worse to deal with as time goes on.Guess I will write out a check and mail it.NONE OF THIS INSPIRES ANY CONFIDENCE IN COMMUNITY HEALTH OPTIONS.I am a single woman with a decent job. My 2015 premium was $324.61. I re-upped for the same plan for 2016 and was quoted $355.47...o.k., not happy it went up but it was only $30+ with a larger deductible, more out-of-pockets, etc., etc. Have to have insurance, cant not have it, right? Paid the first months premium (Jan 2016) when I signed up...it was $326.47 (not a all sure where that number came from...it was neither the 2015 premium NOR the quoted 2016 premium). Get my first real bill (for Feb 2016) and its $384.47. I have called and called and called and called to try and get an explanation. I work 5 days a week, sometimes until 6:00 so it is very difficult to call during their normal business hours.As I type this, I have now been on hold waiting to talk to someone for close to 20 minutes and, of course, I am at work, so if something comes up I will have to hang up and try again when I have a minute.I can almost guarantee when I get home I will have an envelope from Community Health Options threatening to cancel my insurance for non-payment!Get insurance from ANY OTHER COMPANY EXCEPT Community Health Options.It is all crazy making, frustrating and sooooo unprofessional. Next year, I dont care what I have to spend to have health insurance, it will NOT be with Community Health Options.

I have always gotten great service. Never had to wait very long and the staff is police and very helpful. I have NO complaints!

I have had a terrible time signing up with them. I have stayed on hold all afternoon, calling back periodically, only to keep hearing you are in position 1 in the queue but never being addressed. The website has a number of bad links, and I checked under multiple web browsers. They have zero (I mean zero) professionals in Washington County Maine. I also tried to have them call me back, but even though their system says type 1 for this, it doesnt work. FAIL. If youre seeing this Community Health, CALL ME!!!!! I obviously cant call you. Help me please. Use that great customer service that your phone service recording says, but I have yet to see.

I would give zero stars if I could.

MCHO has been wonderful for my husband and me. We are self-employed and have paid astronomical premiums for high deductible plans for years. Their plans are affordable, copays are low and all preventive care like mammograms are free. One thing I would note is that one time when I called and asked the staff person questions about whether some testing was covered under the Affordable Care Act they gave me incorrect info. If you have this kind of question call Consumers for Affordable Health Care - they know EVERYTHING about health care in Maine.

Their customer service is a bad joke. Impossible to get through. I have questions Id like answers to. The recording when you call says they try to treat callers with respect. Apparently that doesnt include answering the phone. Is anyone actually there? Hello?

This is a living, breathing example of the failure of the Affordable Care Act, a cancer on health care. It is not insurance, it is a taxpayer funded boondoggle designed to take money from people who pay their way and redistribute it to those who do not. Coverage is lousy, customer service non-existent. It also lost more than $17 MILLION by December of 2015, per a Bangor Daily News report. IT WILL, LIKE EXCHANGES IN OTHER STATES CREATED BY ACA, BE GOING BELLY UP SOONER THAN LATER. Stay away.

This company has charged my bank account two months in a row after I cancelled my insurance with them. beware!

One miserable experience after the next. Call times, representatives sending you to the wrong areas or providing information later disputed. It has been so frustrating, the stress of dealing with Community Health alone will exacerbate any health condition you may be trying to improve. Run away, dont walk if such is an option for you or your family.

This company is MEMBER owned, and a non-profit. Great rates, great customer service, and they put their money where their mouth is- in Maine, and to their Members. They care about keeping people healthy, no denying claims to benefit stock holders. Couldnt ask for more, beside single-payer, universal healthcare.

Long hold times, like half hour. They say that they are having high call volume. I say hire more people or do as you have promised and people wont have to call all the time. They never sent any info after ecieiving payment, no cards. info or even the next bill. Stay away

I have to say this insurance company is terrible for many reasons. First off dont bother trying to call their office unless you have the day off to wait for someone to pick up the phone. The only thing MCHO website is good for is giving them your money, I try to login to see my coverage/plans benefits and all I get is broken links and pages that dont exist.

I would strongly recommend any other healthcare service. Tragically this is a classic case of you-get-what-you-pay-for, and if youre not shelling out for big premium insurance packages, then youre getting the Ford Pinto of coverage.God forbid you have to get in touch with a representative on the phone. Make sure youve set aside an hour or two, as the wait to get connected averages at an hour. And dont expect help with details or questions about your policy. How presumptuous of you. If you need any other convincing, please browse the litany of other reviews right here. The free clinic is a better bet than relying on CHO for its service.For being a service dedicated to peoples well-being, theyre suspiciously terrible at working towards helping people.

I thought going local would make things easier. I never have enough time in the day to sit on hold and reach a rep. I have one lunch and I spend it hoping, today is the day I can reach someone. I have been trying to make my payment online but I am unable to do so, it seems that feature is broken. I try to make my payment over the phone and the system does not recognize my 10 digit ID. I dont own checks or use them. It seems impossible to pay these people. I do not want to think about what would happen should I need to file a serious claim!

So dissatisfied with this company! I have been calling regarding important issues only to be put on hold, the last time for 45 minutes before I hung up. If you want money for the premiums... answer your phone!

Impossible to speak with someone !

I enrolled in health insurance with his company, with a 5$ monthly premium and 288$ tax credit payment. They cancelled my policy before the end the second month I had the insurance, after receiving the 288$ for the month, without ever notifying me of the cancellation, claiming that I was late on the 5$ payment. I called a few months late and was told by a representative that they had never received any payments at all, a complete lie. I had seen this poor reviews, but did not take notice. DO NOT get health insurance through this company! If it seems to good to be true it is. This company does not have a national reputation to uphold and will do all it can to take advantage of customers. Be cautious. I wish there was more I could do to fight against this immoral company.

This is one of those times I wish zero stars was an option. I guess companies get a star just for showing up, but I’d argue they don’t merit that one either.We live in the modern world with modern, reliable technologies - you know like phones and email. To those of you reading this, you know how to use the internet so phone or email may not seem cutting edge or out of the norm, but they clearly surpass the sophistication of this lot.I set up autopay right at the outset with these guys as life gets busy and I don’t want something as important as health coverage slipping through the cracks. I received monthly notifications that my account was going to be billed at the beginning of the following month and what the due balance was, which never changed from the monthly premium – perfect, all going correctly. No deviation from what was due, so clearly all is going through per the miracles of autopay. WRONG.Apparently there was a billing issue with my account at the beginning of August which I received zero notification of despite their assurances they sent one via horse-drawn carriage and that they had no notification form the local sheriff and his sidekick deputy there was an issue with bandits along the way. Clearly nothing ever goes wrong with standard mail in the US so obviously it was received – they mailed it, so they hold me accountable. No, actually that is what certified mail is for. My account was terminated at the end of August and I was entirely in the dark. All that said, I continued to receive the email notifications telling me my bank would be charged on schedule. I received my most recent email on October 7th, 2018 detailing I would be billed again on November 1, 2018. No past due amount noted. As far as I knew everything was peachy until I went to the doctor today and they informed me my plan was terminated.I called the company and they informed me they would not reinstate. I received zero emails (other than the ones saying I would be billed the normal amount on time and according to plan) and no phone calls. What era do we live in?! They have all of my personal data down to the last time I had the sniffles, have taken thousands of my hard-earned dollars (with pretty piss-poor coverage mind you), yet they won’t pick up a phone or update an email to indicate something is wrong with billing? What kind of con-job terminates a plan, no longer provides coverage, and continues to try pushing bills through MONTHS past the termination of service? I was informed I should keep better track of my banking however, so thank you customer service for that little gem - the accounts you were drawing from have maintained a balance that would provide health coverage payments for years. I think Im good there.I am appalled that this type of service is allowed in the registry of insurance providers my fellow Americans and I are subject to selecting from. I came here to write a review in hopes this would help others avoid such a wretched excuse for an insurance company, only to realize it was me at fault in the end – I had not read the reviews already posted here before signing on the dotted line. My bad. I hope my review can help other hard-working, bill-paying individuals maintain the coverage they are paying for. Choose another company to work with. As for the drone of an individual that responds to each and every one of these reviews trying to spin fault in another direction, save it. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I signed up more than three weeks ago and I still havent been billed for my first premium. With less than two weeks until my plan is supposed to begin and the holidays right around the corner, this is unsettling. Get your stuff together guys.Edit: Thanks for the response. Too bad your company is sending invoices at the last possible moment. I was finally able to pay my premium over the phone after a not very friendly customer service representative informed me that the website was not ready yet and that the due date had been extended to the 10th of January, before eventually connecting me to the phone payment system. I had received no contact from your company regarding any of this information and have been stressing out about not having my plan activated in time. I signed up for my plan on November 25th and expected a reasonable wait time before my account was activated, however the wait time that ensued, without appropriate communication, was disappointing. Your representative also informed me that invoices had had to be sent out after the 15th. It seems to me that instead of processing accounts as they were created, you waited to process them all at once. I understand that this may be efficient on your end, however the lack of communication to your patrons regarding this matter is unacceptable and has no doubt caused stress to many that could have easily been avoided. I am disappointed with the lack of professionalism apparent in your company. Please make an effort to communicate effectively with your patrons in the future. I will henceforth not be recommending community health options to any of my friends.

Beware of this company, cancelled service with them in December but they deducted premium in January of $500+ and now its proving impossible to get the money back. The rep on the phone said a lot of people had the same thing happen.

I need to pay my bill now!! (Ive been calling for 7 days, not including weeked) Ive been trying to get someone on the line because I cant do an automated payment because I dont know the exact amount because I have not received a bill yet! No, thank you...pick up! Update ha still cant get them on the line, thanks

The greed of this company absolutely boggles my mind. They care nothing for the health of the customer. I had paid all of my deductible and my max out of pocket cost when they tried to make me pay full price for a very expensive prescription that they cover. They said the reason was because I owed them $3.02. It doesnt matter that I had paid them $370 dollars that month. $3.02 is more important than their customers health. I had no way to pay the money for the prescription that I absolutely needed that day so I payed the $3.02 with my debit card but then they tell me it would be a few days before they could restore my pharmacy benefits. It just seems like now that my care should be free they are trying any way they can to make me pay for it. If you have any other option dont go with this company.

Wow! This company has changed so much for the worse since their previous incarnation as Maine Community Health Options. Stick to Healthcare.gov to choose insurance for 2018. They have actually (greatly) improved and streamlined their interface and customer service over the years whereas CHO has gone down the tubes.

Still trying to get claims from 2014 for covered services processed correctly, have wasted so many hours. People promise to fix it, will call back, they never do. Today received a large hospital bill from care delivered 2 years ago, thats how long it took CHO to adjudicate the claim. Which is still wrong, as 2014 out of pocket max was exceeded, or would be, if those missing claims ever appeared. Icing on the cake today was rep refusing to speak to me because the 2-year-old claim involved care for a minor who recently turned 18. I could not wait to leave Anthem, ha. Even though their coverage was terrible they didnt actually disappear claims.

There not really helpful with questions. I have gotten the run around every time I actually get a hold of a person. And I would definitely try another agency if I had the option to. Not impressed with them at all

This is the only insurance provider now on the Maine Exchange (Im self-employed), and they sure seem to know it. I previously had Anthem, and boy, do I miss them (never thought I would say that!) After having to switch to CHO in January, I have had nothing but problems. Forget getting through to someone on the phone if you dont have an hour (literally, an hour!) to wait on hold. I finally learned that facebook messages or email is the best way to get through. I put my account on autopay so I wouldnt have to worry about forgetting to pay my premiums, and it has worked correctly I think for one of the past 5 months. Due to errors on their end, it never works, and I am the one that has to reach out and inquire about it, and they just inevitably ask me to make a manual payment. It blows my mind that they cannot seem to make a simple autopay work, and I have to jump through hoops to keep on top of it. I cannot fathom how this company still even exists, when they make it so hard to literally give them my money! I am giving up on autopay because its more of a headache than anything at this point. I am grateful that I am able to have health insurance, but furious that my only option is this joke of a company. I can only hope they get their act together, or another insurer comes along. I keep trying to be patient, but CHO just keeps failing and disappointing me.

MCHO USED to great...the first 2 years. Then straight down the toilet & into the sewer!! Ive used the very same providers & doctors for over three years with no problems, then out of the blue with ZERO contact or info provided to me they terminate their contracts with the doctor Ive used for over three years and I am STUCK with outrageous bills and debt collectors. So NOW I have to search & get to know yet ANOTHER doctor!!??MCHO is OUTRAGEOUS and takes ZERO responsibility for THEIR inefficient and irresponsible actions/behaviour. They have turned into a complete NIGHTMARE, so I have switched to Harvard Pilgrim. Do NOT go with this crooked outfit. They WILL rip you off and stick YOU with OUTRAGEOUS usary bills!!

I have been very happy with my coverage and am pleased to be able to deal with customer service people who are native speakers of English, located close to home.

When you have questions concerning health insurance that you pay for services, do not waste your time to expect to talk to a customer service representative. I have called four times with no less that a Q of 26 and never got down to a Q time less than 17. By the way, from Q 26 to Q 17 took only twenty two minutes TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Website has never worked. Total deductible met always says $0 and amount paid toward maximum always says $0. No way of knowing where I am at with my deductible unless calling them. Today I was 22nd in queue. Didnt have an hour plus to wait. Also, many medical/pharmacy payments we have made this year from HSA account not showing up as claims paid on website. Very little faith in this company.

It is truly difficult to communicate with this company. No email or chat options are listed on the website, so you need to call and wait for 30 minutes.Coverage is basically catastrophic in nature, with a combination of high premiums and/or deductibles. The customer service phone line has a Mr. Rogers-like voice that irritates with its condescending tone,. Maybe itd work if I was a Buddhist, I dont know. Typical wait time for me has been 25-50 minutes. A high point is that the customer service reps are generally really nice folks and try to help. Poor things--their work is hindered by having to talk-down all the angry people who have been waiting on hold forever. Some know their product well, but some do not, which is actually somewhat understandable in the complex world of health plans.As an insurer, they err on the side of covering as little as possible, which is not unique. The latest humorous example: I asked them to cover testing for bee sting allergy since I work outdoors and had had a reaction to something that stung me. They refused. So I paid out-of-pocket to an allergist to discover that I am highly allergic and could die if stung by certain types of bees. If I hadn’t paid for myself to be tested and was stung with no epipen or benadryl, the cost to CHP could have been significant. Or I could have been dead and they would have one less person who could pay premiums. At least now I have epipens (paid a fortune for those too) and benadryl so I wont die! CHP won’t count my expenditures toward my deductible, since getting tested was elective. I elect to live! It took 8 months to get this answer. This has been typical of my experience.CHO accepts neither cash payment nor credit cards, which is annoying. Online payment has not always worked correctly, so double check so you dont have late bills or coverage suspended due to computer glitches. More annoying is that the company sends self-congratulatory literature cheering that they they are now financially solvent, when that success is in large part on the backs of the members, as premiums have risen drastically, (in my case nearly doubling in 4 years). Their financial recovery is also attributable to an obvious reduction in customer service. Providers I have spoken with lament the slow pace of payment and lack of good communication from CHP. I suspect they are walking a tightrope of barely staying solvent.The website asserts Community Health Options commitment to improvement is ingrained throughout the organization. Id say sporadically exhibited, though they say they are working on it, have improved their website, and mail you literature on how to stay healthy. A large number of their problems are common among health care insurers in the USA--but they need do a better job. I believe the founders of the company had good intentions, but things have been tough, maybe due to misreading the marking, inefficient business practices, problems with the ACA, etc.If they dont improve quickly, I suspect that they will lose a number of subscribers (me among them) when the individual mandate is revoked in 2019.

I have been waiting over an hour to talk with a rep.Pathetic customer service!Please hire more help so your customers can get thru & actually talk with someone.....

Expensive... high deductibles. sent me a bill for my last month, but charged me for 3 months when my insurance got renewed in january (even though i had switched insurances) and wont give me my money back after i called multiple times. they admit it was their mess up, but its been a month without being refunded. they refused to cover ultra sounds when my wife had a high risk pregnancy which required more than 1 ultra sound. id spend your money elsewhere.

Excellent service when calling - very helpful to step through the various options. Thank you!

We have had MCHO for 3 years now and have been happy with the service they provide. Although they have had their share of hiccups they always work hard to remedy the issue. Customer support has always worked hard to answer our questions and we even get follow up calls when they dont know the answer. While most health insurers are bailing on providing individuals with quality healthcare MCHO is staying in the fight! Thanks

I am both an employer who chose CHO for my employees and an employee trying to utilize the coverage. Coverage began Dec 1, 2017. I herniated discs in my back days before Christmas and my doctor ordered physical therapy. The pt office submitted a request for approval of 6 pt visits several weeks ago and have yet to receive a response even with attempts to call directly. They saw me in advance of approval for those 6 visits but had to put in a request for the 2nd 6 and now have had to cancel my appointments for lack of any response from CHO. I am in severe pain and I’m need of pt and now cannot get the approval (or even a person to address) for coverage for which I have paid. I called the number on my insurance card for member services and I am sitting on hold as I type this. So far I have been on hold for 35 minutes. I also had Claims during December unrelated to pt which still do not even show up on the system as received by CHO. My providers are all going to stop seeing me because they are not receiving responses on the claims they are submitting. My healthcare for which I pay huge premiums is being severely compromised and it is unacceptable. I will repost as to when and if anyone ever answers this call. I do not intend to hang up. Extremely disappointed that I switched my entire law firm over from Anthem to CHO as I have now put my employees in a position of having their healthcare compromised as well.

The short review is: worse experience ever.The detailed review is below.They have no idea what they are doing and are constantly making costly mistakes.1. I had to see a chiropractor, and before taking the appointment I read my plan (which, by the way, is useless: no information) and I called MCHO (45min on hold) to ask them if chiropractic services were covered. The staff member on the phone told me that it was, that I had up to 40 visits a year. I asked about the copay, deductible and everything. I went and had my first appointment and MCHO told the practice that the plan has changed and apparently whoever talked to me on the phone gave me false and expired information. So I had to pay the bill in full.How fair is it to CHARGE a member for a negligence that YOUR employees made? I called to be informed and got misinformed by the very people PAID to inform me!After weeks of back and forth, filing claims and appeals, spending hours on the phone and leaving work early to fix this mess, the hundreds of dollars were finally reimbursed.I triple checked to make sure I wouldnt end up in a mess like that, and it didnt help. You cannot trust a word they say. Always ask for the info to be mailed to you and write down the name of the person on the phone so youre safe.2. Three months ago my PCP office sent me a delinquent payment notice. I always pay my copay at the time of the visit so I was baffled. I contacted billing and its a bill of hundreds of dollars from my last office visit that MCHO did not pay for. Shocked, I contacted MCHO and they told me that I am not covered...But I know I am through my job! They finally saw that they made a mistake and told me to hold tight while they reprocess the claim. Months later, I find out that they only paid 20% of the bill. No explanations, nothing. And to top it off I am still getting delinquent payment notices because of THEIR negligence!I am currently on hold as I type this, to try and get a hold of someone who will probably have NO IDEA what is going on or what they are talking about.This is absolute rubbish.People, if you have a choice, please do not get involved with this insurance company. Its a nightmare.(Update: After being on hold for 43 minutes, a rep quickly took my information then PUT ME BACK on hold. Then came back later clearly reading a script to tell me to keep waiting for 60 days for the issue to be resolved. I tell the rep that I reported this issue in December, it HAS been 60 days! Then she says...maybe wait 90 days and call us back. I am livid.)

Worst experience ever. This group is a joke and I would not be surprised if its a scam that screws Mainers over. NEVER DEAL WITH COMMUNITY HEALTH OPTIONS.

We were making monthly payments on schedule and just found out that they lost the payments. They allege that they sent notification by mail which we never received. So they decided to cancel the insurance. So I now have a life limiting hand injury that I cant get treated. Thanks for nothing.

They refuse to make a payment to a provider that was listed in their provider directory the day I went and even when I called a month later. They said I was right on May 6th, now saying they wont pay again. Wont let you talk to the department who wont pay. Wont let you talk to the managers boss. Says I have to file an appeal. Theyve started disallowing generic prescriptions they paid for the last two years. Im filing s complaint with the bureau of insurance for the state of Maine.

Denied my son the testing he needed in order to help him at school, and after he said he wanted to kill himself.They stated they would only pay for the testing if he had Dementia or Parkinsons disease - I recorded her stating this - my Pediatrician has contacted them, the Neuropysch DR and they still refuse -- we pay $394 a week to them, thats nearly $21k a year, and they dont care,This insurance is in bad faith, and deal in unfair claims practice .

Wow, they screwed me. I was a great customer for four years, but then, just like that, screwed. What a scuzzy organization.Edited to answer MCHO:First, you switched me automatically to a plan that was 50% more expensive than my previous one without even talking to me about it. Then, you didnt update my contact information across the whole system, so that my bills were being sent somewhere else, and eventually my plan was canceled due to nonpayment. When I pointed this out, you admitted fault, said I could reinstate my policy (IF I payed for five months where you werent even covering me, AS IF you would have covered a claim of mine during that period!). But, apparently I missed the 10 day window to send you a check, so, nope, your responsibility to fix this went right out the window along with my chance for insurance the rest of the year. What do you have to say to that?

Ive been on hold waiting to speak to somebody for an hour and I am still in the queue. Tried morning and now afternoon. It is impossible to get ahold of anybody via telephone. This is the MOST TERRIBLE service I have EVER experienced. Extremely annoyed!

Try calling and on hold for over One hour.Tried looking up providers who are in my network to no avail .... Dr sent me for a event monitor. My dr is in network however I did not know that the event monitor was at a office out of network and now I have a 180 bill to pay. Im not happy with this insurance . Finally just received the insurance card. Why can you put a list on your website of in network providers? I cant even get thru to confirm anything. Very frustrating .

Very poor phone service. Called two mornings at exactly 8 AM. First call both mornings: Not yet open. Thirty seconds later both mornings: High Call Volume-- Please wait! Nuts to this!

Really 0stars !!!!! We had Maine community health sense September 2015. They sent every bill late postmark would be (example) November 14th with a bill in side due November 1st....ummm ok, we paid by checks then and needed the return envelope. Not once was the bill sent for the first of the month we were canceled due to late payment,fine. I reenrolled 2016-2017 I went for the automatic withdrawal from checking account. March 2017 I had a issue with my card and needed to get a new one. I sent in the payment by mail in by personal check with the total dollard amount, except I forgot the cense , yup .34 cense. They canceled my coverage due to non payment In full June of 2017, iv spoke with the number of times before June due to their constant messesups with your pharmacy, they accepted all payments and covered us after the march messup (till not aware of the nonpayment of .34 cense) no one ever told us about this non full payment not in a bill not over the phone Nothing, they claim they sent notice but we never received one and they stand by the cancellation. My husband needs life saving prescriptions and now we are left paying 1000 of dollars this in perceptions and dr bills ! Do not enroll with them, they stink! The worst !!!!! I would have paid the f******* .34cense if one of the members would have said somthing or even a paper bill!! Nothing!!!