Before choosing a health insurance plan, check whether your doctors and hospitals participate in its specific provider network.
The insurance company’s name alone isn’t enough. A doctor might accept one Anthem network but not another. A hospital might participate in Kaiser’s broader network but not KP Select. Employer plans can also have different networks from individual plans sold by the same company.
Use the carrier directories below to check the plan you’re considering.
Colorado health insurance provider directories
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
Search Anthem’s provider directory
Choose Colorado and the individual and family coverage category, then select the network shown in the plan’s name or documents. Pay particular attention to the distinction between Pathway and Pathway Essentials.
If you already have Anthem coverage, signing into your member account can help you search using your existing plan.
See our Anthem network changes article for additional information about changes affecting Colorado members.
Kaiser Permanente
Search Kaiser Permanente’s Colorado directory
Select the appropriate plan or network before searching. These directory selections are particularly relevant when comparing individual and family plans:
- KP Select
- Kaiser Permanente Colorado Option for Individual & Family
- Colorado HMO/EPO, used for the broader network
Don’t assume a hospital listed under one selection participates in all three.
Our Kaiser hospital network comparison shows the differences we found among these networks. A participating hospital doesn’t automatically mean every physician who practices there participates, and outside care may require a referral or authorization.
Select Health
Search Select Health’s provider directory
For Colorado individual and family plans, look for the Select Health Value network. Confirm that your search is set to Colorado and the network associated with your plan.
Check the individual doctor and office location, along with any hospital or outpatient facility you expect to use.
UnitedHealthcare / Rocky Mountain Health Plans
Search UnitedHealthcare’s provider directory
Use the individual and family plan directory and select the network associated with the specific plan you’re considering.
Don’t use a broad UnitedHealthcare employer-plan search as confirmation that a provider participates in a Colorado individual plan. If you already have coverage, start with your member account or the instructions on your ID card.
Elevate Health Plans / Denver Health Medical Plan
Search Elevate’s provider directory
Start from the individual and family Exchange/Colorado Option member page and follow its Provider Directory link.
Choose the directory option corresponding to your plan. Avoid accidentally searching Elevate Medicare Advantage or another Denver Health coverage program.
Colorado Access Choice
Search Colorado Access Choice’s provider directory
Use the Provider Directory link on Colorado Access Choice’s member page.
Be sure you’re searching Colorado Access Choice, rather than a separate Colorado Access Medicaid directory.
How to check whether your doctor is in-network
1. Start with the exact plan and network
Have the full plan name available. Include the coverage year when checking a plan for next year.
“Do you take Blue Cross?” is too broad. A better question is:
“Are you in-network for this specific individual health insurance plan at this office location?”
2. Check the doctor’s location
Search the doctor by name and confirm the office address. A listing at one location doesn’t necessarily establish participation at every location where that doctor works.
Also check whether the practice is accepting new patients under that plan.
3. Check the facility separately
For surgery, imaging, infusions, or other facility-based care, check both the treating provider and the facility.
A doctor’s participation doesn’t establish that the hospital, surgery center, imaging center, or laboratory is also in-network.
4. Confirm with the practice and insurer
Use the carrier directory, then ask the practice’s billing office to confirm the exact plan and location.
If the answers conflict, ask the insurer to investigate before you enroll or schedule nonemergency care. Save the directory listing and any written confirmation, along with the date and reference number for relevant calls.
5. Check referrals and authorizations
Being in-network doesn’t mean every service is automatically covered. Your plan may require a specialist referral, prior authorization, or care through a particular facility.
Ask about those requirements before treatment.
Do HMO and EPO plans cover out-of-network care?
For routine care, generally expect to use your plan’s network. Out-of-network coverage is usually limited, although emergency care and certain other protected situations have different rules.
The HMO or EPO label doesn’t answer every question about referrals, authorizations, or covered services. Check the actual plan documents.
Also, a provider saying they “accept” your insurance might only mean they’ll submit a claim. Ask whether they’re contracted as an in-network provider for your specific plan.
Recheck your network each year
Keeping the same insurance company doesn’t guarantee that your network will stay the same.
Before renewing, check the doctors, hospitals, and other facilities that matter to you. When shopping for next year, confirm that the directory information applies to that coverage year.
Need help comparing plans around your providers?
Send us the names and office locations of the doctors you want to keep, your preferred hospitals, and the plans you’re considering.
We can help you narrow the options and identify which network details need confirmation before you enroll.