California health
insurance
-
Individual and Family -
Clear Protection 3300The Anthem
California Blue Cross Clear Protection 3300 Plan
- Typically one of the Lowest priced plans
on the Individual Family market
- Split Deductible for Hospital ($3300)
versus other covered benefits ($6800)
- Access official Anthem Online
Application for Clear Protection plan
The Clear Protection plan is no longer
available for enrollment after Jan 2014.
The Silver Plan is the Closest Equivalent.
You can
Quote the Silver Plans here.
If
you've been in the California health insurance
market for long enough (let's say a decade
plus), you start to recognize trends even in
such a changing landscape as we have right now.
Generally, there are just a few plans,
definitely less than 10 and usually closer 3-4
that really make any sense across all the
carriers. These plans don't always remain the
top pick as things change over the period of
years (we'll discuss why later) but while
they're there, it's hard to justify any other
plan on the market. Right now, Anthem of Blue
Cross' Clear Protection 3300 is on that short
list. Let's discuss why and also look at the
pros and cons of this plan selection.
The last of the Clear Protection PPO Plans
The Clear Protection 3300 is the last
remaining plan of a suite of plans which also
included a Clear Protection $1000 and $5000
plan, both of which worked the same way but with
different deductibles. We lost our Clear
Protection $5000 (able to move to $3300) and
shortly after, we lost the Clear Protection
$1000. This is probably fine since the $3300
option generally made the most sense in terms of
pricing to benefits. So what makes the $3300
plan so great?
Generally
one of the lowest priced plans on the individual
market
Pricing. In general, the Clear Protection
$3300 plan will be one of the best 3 plans in
terms of pricing on the California health
insurance market. The other plans are brand new
plans which will likely see some price changes
over time (i.e....they're underpriced). Long
term, the $3300 may also go up but today's
meaning of long term is just to Jan 2014 when
everything changes anyway so there's less risk
in making such a decision than in the past. The
plan is PPO and has full access to Anthem's PPO
network of providers (which is extensive in
California) and access to the Blue Card national
network of BCBS PPO providers in other States.
Preventative is also covered at 100% for
eligible expenses in-network which is true for
all plans but an added bonus for such an
affordably priced plan. Maternity is also
covered effective 7/1/2012 as with all
California individual health plans. Let's get
into the core benefits.
Two deductibles (think hospital versus other
services)
As the name hints, you have a $3300 calendar
year deductible for hospital related services.
You then pay 40% of the PPO negotiated rates for
further services until you hit the Out of pocket
max of $3500. For the really big bill, your true
exposure is $6800 (adding the deductible and
max). Other services are subject to the main
$6800 max but that's still your cap. You get two
office visits at $40 copays (in addition to
preventative) and generic copays at $15. It's
best to think of it as a generic only plan
although you can get brand copays once a
catastrophic $7500 deductible is met which we
like as opposed to just generic only. The one
wrinkle is that diagnostic lab/xray is subject
to the max out of pocket and does not go towards
deductible. In light of that, how does the
pricing stack up...in other words, what are we
saving to take on this exposure?
How is pricing for Clear Protection 3300 is
based
Of course pricing is very dependent on age
and to a lesser extent, zip code. Generally, the
next plans up that make sense are Anthem's Smart
Sense plan (standard RX to compare apples and
apples) or Shield's Wise PPO plans (generic and
brand included). For a single 35 year old, the
difference in premium might be $500 annually.
Keep in mind that the labs will still be subject
to a high deductible ($3500 in our case). For
average years, you won't feel the difference
between these plans. For the very large bills,
you still won't feel the difference since the
true out of pocket is similar (actually better
on the $3300 Clear Protection plan).
We might recommend one of the other plans if
brand name drugs are a concern (in that case,
Shield's Wise plans or Smart Sense Upgrade RX
depending on pricing) or if a person wants
unlimited office visits. Otherwise, the Clear
Protection $3300 is hard to beat. Of course,
we're happy to walk through the various options
with you based on your specific situation.
You can run your
Health
Plan Quote here
to view rates and plans side by side from the
major carriers...Free.
Again, there is absolutely no cost to you for
our services. Call 800-320-6269 Today!