
January 2020
Notification of Annual Benefit Updates
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) will be updating member files with annual benefit changes over the next few weeks. As always, we encourage you to verify your patients’ coverage first, using the Availity® Provider Portal or your preferred vendor portal.
In the event a call is necessary to contact BCBSIL Provider Customer Service, please know that hold times may be longer than normal.
- Customer Advocates will have extended hours for eligibility and benefit inquiries Jan. 2 - 24, 2020, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., CST.
- Claims Customer Advocates hours will remain the same, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., CST.
As a reminder, you may obtain routine eligibility and benefit information as well as claims status in seconds using Availity or the web vendor of your choice. For patients who are not scheduled for appointments, deferring eligibility and benefit information requests to a later date is appreciated.
Checking eligibility and/or benefit information is not a guarantee of payment. Benefits will be determined once a claim is received and will be based upon, among other things, the member’s eligibility and the terms of the member’s certificate of coverage applicable on the date services were rendered. If you have any questions, please call the number on the member’s ID card.
Availity is a trademark of Availity, LLC, a separate company that operates a health information network to provide electronic information exchange services to medical professionals. Availity provides administrative services to BCBSIL. BCBSIL makes no endorsement, representations or warranties regarding any products or services provided by third party vendors such as Availity. If you have any questions about the products or services provided by such vendors, you should contact the vendor(s) directly.