Great-West Life Health Insurance Reviews

I have been had the great displeasure of having Great West be my health and dental provider for many years. This is the company my employer uses, so I am forced into using this very inefficient company. I have told them , if I could opt out I would have years ago. They constantly, lose receipts I send in, causing me to go back to the pharmacy or health practioner and request duplicate ones, don't pay claims they should, and now the topper for me, after having a drug paid for for ten years, decided maybe they will only pay a portion of it. They admit it was a mistake on their part but still are really putting me through the ringer, having me go back to my pharmacy for a third time over the same drug, to get old archived receipts. I have gone through numerous people at Great West, some very nice but with zero power to change anything, a very condescending supervisor, to one who is nice, understands my point of view, but blames the drug department for all the problems . This issue is still not resolved, this is a prescription I do not see going off of in the foreseeable future, so I continue doing battle to have it paid. I am at the point where I am starting to think they are just trying to see if I will go away and forget about the whole thing. I am meticulous about checking my paper work and if I were not this way, I would be out hundreds of dollars. Others that I work with, don't have the time or the interest to check their payments and I dare say, Great West is making tons of money of people like these. Very inefficient company, my next step is to go to the Ombudsman for this company. Really disgusting that this company gets richer by stealing from the benefits of hard working people. Shameful. If you have a choice in your provider, don't go here, you'll be sorry.

Is this company using dental fee guides from the 80s?? It sure seems that way. I’m supposed to have 90% dental coverage, but when I actually go to the dentist it only works out to about 70% because great West Life uses their own fee guide. So they’ve decided that cleaning should cost a certain amount when in reality in 2020 it costs far more. It’s cheap, underhanded business practices. They are nowhere near the provincial feed guide estimated for dental services whether standard or extensive. And that’s only the basic procedures, if you need anything more than basic they only cover 50%. Or well, 50% of what they “think“ the procedure should cost. So you’re getting screwed and then screwed again. Trying to get through on the phone to ask them which fee guide they use is impossible, I just gave up after a 45-minute wait with no answer. If I could scrub the planet of slimy insurance companies and start it fresh with honest ones, I would.

Most claims you submit will be rejected. I purchased a CPAP machine from CPAP clinic store GWL has refused to pay me back due conflicts between GWL and Cpap clinic stores. Why do I have to pay from my own pocket when I have coverages. The need to resolve their issues between by themselves. Many more bad reviews to come due to several issues I got many hours of frustration dealing with them. I would love to give them zero stars but it wasn't an option.

I was insured though Great West-Life. I had prescription coverage. My partner has a neurological disorder and required non cosmetic botox. We filed the claim online and were informed that we required special permission from our doctor. We got the special paperwork filled out, received a letter confirming that it was now covered by Great West-Life, and refiled the paperwork. They again rejected it because the doctor used a generic version of the botox. This was clear on our initial claim. Our coverage finished and I spent hours on the phone trying to get them to honour the prescription. Their phone staff said they would call back but never did. They clearly just waited until my patience ran out. I would not recommend them.

The Edmonton office is horrible, if you have any choice do not go with these people! I was paid for a month then waited over a month to hear back from my claim adjuster, left voicemails and emails, even called his group leader and didn’t receive anything. I paid this company for years and still haven't received proper coverage, I emailed him on Thursday, January 9th and still haven’t received a response, this company is an embarrassment.

This is the worst insurance company. They take way too long to process claims and then deny them for "not meeting requirements" that were not previously listed ANYWHERE. When calling to inquire, they tell you you should have "known the requirements" or "called first to ask". Absolutely not - if something is a requirement, it should be listed as such on the website. They will find any reason to deny your claim. If you're looking for a group benefits provider, save your employees and look elsewhere.

I've been insured with them through my work and have been paying into them for almost 2 years with no claims. I finally made a claim for orthopedic shoes and it has been a month since I sent them what they asked for - doctor's prescription and podiatrist's. They rejected my claim BY SENDING A LETTER THROUGH SNAIL MAIL!!! I can't even touch how bad an idea that is because it's slow and dated... ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CAN CALL/EMAIL OR UPDATE MY FILE! I called to find out why, and I've had to wait on the phone for half an hour before a representative picks up and tells me the same things. They refuse to pay for my shoes because according to their system my condition requires orthotics, not ortho shoes. I asked them to cover my orthotic insoles and they said my plan doesn't cover those, only ortho shoes, but they won't pay for my shoes because my condition requires the insoles... I explained that my doctor told me to get both of them for my condition, but they are saying their system says otherwise and they don't cover insoles. Fast forward to a month and I've spoken to the supervisor twice and have only received the same runaround. This is literally the worst runaround in the history of runaround. It goes likes this: "Your doctor says you need these things but our system says you need only the insoles. We do not cover insoles for you but we do cover shoes for you. We can't give you shoes because according to our system you need insoles. We don't cover insoles for you." It is ridiculous! This is what I've had to hear for a month AFTER waiting on the phone for upwards of 20 minutes and up to a half-hour. Please! For the sake of your sanity, and your money, if your employer offers benefits through this company, don't waste your money because you can easily pay for your stuff without going through them if you choose to opt-out.

I sent them an email asking about one of my claims.

They responded back 20 days later with little to no information.

They do not care about their clients. Thankfully our workplace has switched to another provider.

For years I had severe anxiety problems and was unable to find the root cause for it. Recently I have been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, doctor recommended me to buy a CPAP machine and to be honest it changed my life! The best of it is I don't need to take medication for the anxiety anymore, sleep apnea was the root cause for my anxiety! Turns out that the (not so) Great West refuse to pay for the CPAP machine which is priced at 1700$ because for them I am not sick enough (i have moderate Sleep Apnea), they reimburse me over 1000$ per year for anxiety pills but they won't pay a dime for the real solution to the problem which is Sleep Apnea.

They have an answering machine phone system, very hard to get an agent on the phone. They rarely return phone calls. Rarely return emails. Very difficult to fax documents as their fax machine seems to usually not work and takes days to weeks to get a hold of an agent to confirm whether fax went through. Then it seems like they don't even read medical records sent to them. Got my claim and appeal both denied which took 5 months total. Denials didn't mention any medical information sent to them, doctor's diagnosis, or doctor finding I was not medically fit for work. You'll hear lots about being 60% able to work. It doesn't matter if you are vomiting, dizzy, or having other flu-like symptoms. Doesn't matter your doctor finds you unfit for work and in need of bed rest. The whole system is corrupt by design. Don't worry about your claim being paid out, it won't be.