California Health Care Reform » Resources

Provider Networks

If you have a physician you want to keep seeing, then it is important to verify which networks the doctor is in by using the provider network links below.

I do not recommend calling the doctor’s office and asking. The doctor’s office personnel will not be able to tell you which networks are for individual plans versus the networks for company-sponsored group health insurance.

Once you’ve narrowed the choice down to 1 or 2 plans and networks, the doctor’s office can give you a Yes or No answer to accepting the plans you want to apply for.

Follow the instructions provided for each of the doctor search tools below and you can determine which health insurance plans your doctor accepts.

Once you have decided which plan to apply for, call the doctor’s office to verify they accept the plan and network before you begin the application.

See examples of how to use the Anthem Blue Cross and the Blue Shield of California doctor search tools in the Video below:

Provider Network Links:

• Anthem Blue Cross Provider Network Search Click Here

  

  On the first page you will use the right side under “Search as a Guest.” Under the light blue button, click the link “Search by Selecting a Plan or Network.”

  On the next page use the left side and select “Medical” from the drop-down menu under “What type of care are you searching for?” Next you will select the state. Then under “Select a plan/network” you will select the type of network.

  Anthem lists a bunch of different networks, but the only one’s you need to select are the one’s at the top of the list under the “Medical Networks on-Exchange” called “Pathway X.” The on-Exchange or Covered California provider networks are identical to the off-Exchange networks, so we can choose from these four networks:

  • Pathway X – PPO Tiered Network
  • Pathway X – HMO Network
  • Pathway X – PPO Network

  Once you’ve selected the network, click the blue “Continue” button.

  On the next page you can enter you doctor’s last name and then in the drop-down menu under “Who Specializes in” you will want to select the “All Specialties” option at the top of the list. You can select your doctor’s specialization if you are certain of it, otherwise use All Specialties.

  The last step is to enter the City where your doctor’s office is located. Then click the blue “Search” button below.

• Aliera Healthcare MULTIPLAN Provider Network Search Click Here

  

  On the first page you will need to click on the White “OK” button in the bottom right corner (in the green background area).

  Then click the green “Select Network” button and choose the “Multiplan” option in the menu that appears. The next menu option will ask “Do you see any of these statements on your benefits ID card?” and you’ll select the one at the bottom that states “I don’t see any of these statements.” You are now ready to begin your search.

  The next step is to click the green “Enter Zip” link and put in the zip-code of your doctor’s office or your home zip-code. Then enter the name of your doctor and click the green search button.

  The initial green box at the bottom of the screen with reappear when you run a search, so you’ll have to click the white “OK” button each time you run a search to get rid of the breen banner at the bottom of the screen.

• Blue Shield of California Provider Network Search Click Here

  

  The Blue Shield 2017 network search tool looks very different than last year.

  The initial page shows a large white box with 10 options shown inside. The ones we’ll focus on are the two at the top: Doctors, and Primary Care Physicians. You’ll use the “Doctors” option whenever you are searching to see if your doctor is in the network.

  The “Primary Care Physician” box is only used to select your primary doctor from an HMO plan.

  Click on the “Doctors” block and you will get a drop-down box with the question “Are you a Blue Shield member?” You’ll select the “No” answer.

  On the next page it will ask “Where are you located?” You’ll want to put in the city or zip-code where your doctors are located unless they work near your home. Then click the blue “Continue” button.

  On the next page it will ask you “Do you already have a plan in mind?” Answer this question with a “Yes.” This will allow you to select the network and plan you want.

  On the page where it says “Find Your Plan,” you’ll want to click the text “Choose Plan Type.” This will show a drop-down menu with all the network names. For 2017 you’ll want to select either the “2017 Individual and Family PPO Plan (including Covered California)” or the “2017 Individual and Family HMO Plan (including Covered California).” Then click on the “Select Sub Plan” text and choose any plan name from the drop down menu that shows up (I always select the Silver 70 PPO). It does not matter which one you use because they all have the same network of doctors. Then click the blue “Continue with this plan” button.

  You will finally reach the “Search Doctors” page. Here you can search for your Physician’s name by clicking the “Doctor Name” bullet, entering your physician’s last name in the entry field, and clicking the light-blue “Search” button.

• Cigna Provider Network Search Click Here

  

  Cigna provides a fairly easy to use provider search tool. Just enter your zip-code, then select the year 2016 on the next screen, and then select the “LocalPlus” network on the next screen. These steps have taken you to the Cigna network provider search tool resource. Here you need to select “Person by Name” in the Find a… box. Then insert your doctor’s name in the next box and click the blue search button on the right side.

• Health Net Provider Network Search Click Here

  

  Health Net’s provider search tool is a little bit awkward until you get used to it. First, select the year you want, then select the “location type.” I’ve found the easiest way to search is to select the “county” option. Then type in the name of the county, and click continue.

  In the lower section, click on the “Filter by provider name” option, and enter your doctor’s name. Then click the green Continue button. This will take you to another page where it will display all the doctors with that name. If you doctor does not show up in that list, he/she is not in any of the Health Net networks. If you see your doctor’s name, then click the green “view details” button, and this will bring up a panel showing specific information about your doctor.

  Inside that panel there is a “Select a Plan” menu which shows all the Health Net networks the doctor participates in. For individual plans on Covered California there is a section in bold which shows these networks. Outside of Covered CA you are looking for the PPO Individual & Family network, the HSP Individual & family network, the EPO individual & family networks, and the HMO Community Care network. If you don’t see any of these, then your doctor does not accept Health Net’s individual plans.

• Sharp Health Plan Provider Network Click Here

  

  The Sharp Health Plan network is primarily composed of 2 Sharp physician groups and 4 north county medical groups. The following medical groups are in the Sharp network:

  1. Sharp Community Medical Group (SCMG) – Premier & Performance (network 1 & 2)
  2. Sharp Rees-Stealy (SRS) – Premier & Performance (network 1 & 2)
  3. Rady Children’s Health Network/Children’s Physicians Medical Group (CPMG) – Performance (network 2)
  4. Primary Care Associates Medical Group (PCAMG) – Performance (network 2)
  5. Greater Tri-Cities IPA (GTC) – Performance (network 2)
  6. Arch Health Partners – Performance (network 2)

  Sharp Health Plan offers two networks to choose from. The Premier network includes only Sharp providers. The Performance network is larger and includes medical groups outside Sharp’s control. Therefore, Sharp Health plans using the Performance network 2 have higher premiums than the Premier network 1 plans.

  Use the “I’m a Guest” area and select the “Search All Networks” option. Then click the Orange Search Providers button at the bottom right. Resist the urge to tweak any of the other settings on this initial page.

  You’ll now see all the doctors like your’s in San Diego. Just above the list there is a search entry box. Put your doctor’s name there and click the “Search” button. If your doctor is in the network you will see his/her name show up below. On the right side of the screen is a gray “Advanced Search” area. Inside here there is a “Network” drop-down menu that will show you which networks this doctor accepts. You can also click on the doctor’s name and on the next page it will show the networks the doctor participates in.

• Kaiser Permanente Provider Network Click Here

  The Kaiser Permanente provider network search resource is very simple to use. Just select the region you live in from the drop-down menu and hit go. Then enter your city name or zip-code, and the name of your Kaiser Physician and hit the “Search” button.

  All Kaiser physicians will accept health care reform plans.

• Western Health Advantage Provider Network Click Here

• Molina Healthcare Provider Network Click Here

  To get to the Molina Healthcare provider search tool, you must visit the company homepage and then click the “Find a Doctor or Pharmacy” button in the website navigation bar under the logo.

  On the next page you will select the “Search by City or Zip” option, then select your “State.” Wait just a second while the page reloads, then select the name of your city from the drop-down menu, or enter your doctor’s zip code.

  In the “Select a Coverage and Provider Type area you will select the “Molina Marketplace” in the Coverage drop-down menu and select either “Primary Care Physician” or “Specialist” from the Provider Type drop-down menu. Then scroll down slightly and click the dark teal “Search” button.

  This will give you a list of ALL the Molina doctors within within 5 miles from the center of the city or zip code you provided. You will now have to scan through the list to see if your doctor’s name shows up.

• Oscar Health Insurance Provider Network Search Click Here

  Click the down arrow next to the “Doctors Type” entry and select “Doctor name.” Then type in your doctor’s name in the neighboring field.

  As you type the doctor’s name Oscar will show you a list of doctors with the same (or similar) name. If you see your doctor’s name in the list then click on it to verify that it is your doctor. If not, then click the green search button (magnifying glass). This will bring up the list of doctors that match the name you entered.

  If you don’t see your doctor’s name, then he/she is not currently in the Oscar network.

• Medi-Cal Provider Directory Search Click Here

• United Healthcare of California Provider Network Search Click Here

• Sutter Health Plus Provider Network Search Click Here