Another year...another Open Enrollment.
Covered Ca has had big changes in store for California over the last few years.
For Senior options, check out Medicare options with Blue Shield.
As for Individual Family including Covered Ca, in some counties, they will be the only insurer.
Let's take a look at the company and their options available including Covered California plans.
We'll touch base on these main topics:
You can always quote the new Blue Shield plans and rates here with tax credit:
Let's get started!
First, there are changes that affect all the carriers including Blue Shield.
Each year at Open Enrollment (Nov 1st - Jan 31st most years), there are slight changes to the core benefits.
These plans are standardized so the core benefits will be the same from carrier to carrier.
Within each plan level, there are tweaks here and there.
Usually not for the best but the carriers are scrambling to keep costs down (less high is a better description).
Again, it will affect Blue Shield's plans as well as the other carriers.
We'll address network and rates changes in those respective sections below but here's the biggest change.
There's no cost for our services as Certified Covered California agents.
Otherwise, it should be pretty consistent for Blue Shield of California.
The only one!
They will offer plans across the full spectrum of levels from Bronze HSA to Platinum.
Let's get into the individual topics that are important.
Starting with Pricing!
Up through 2017, the rate comparison really came down to Blue Shield's PPO and Anthem' EPO.
That makes recent years quite a bit easier since Anthem left big parts of the State.
They've since up back to some areas but check what's available in the quote below.
You can quote all your plan options including Shield here:
In areas where Anthem is still here, it really comes down
to the individual.
The difference can be striking.
You definitely need to quote the two side by side.
The average increase for all of California is single digits over the last few years.
An individual's rate change can be quite different from the average.
Usually up!
This means that the change in tax credit should partially offset any increase in underlying premium.
It's really important to re-evaluate your income for the current year if you expect different results.
The income piece can be confusing...especially if you're self-employed.
Let us help you walk through this section to make sure doing it right.
It can mean a lot of money out of pocket.
This brings up a good point...
The application or plan change itself if full of places where a wrong answer can affect your tax credit.
We can help with that process as well.
There's no cost to you as Certified Covered Ca agents.
If you already have a Covered Ca account, just delegate us (quick instructions here).
If you're enrolling newly, access to the streamlined application is here:
either way, we'll get you on the right track right away.
There's an art to comparing the various plans available.
Let's get out the brushes!
Blue Shield will offer plans at all levels:
Even though the plans are standardized from carrier to carrier, it's still tough for the average person to compare the options.
Not a problem!
Two incredible resources to compare Blue Shield's plans.
Start with the Comparing Covered Ca plans Article.
if you really want a step by step guide with incredible insight, use our planfinder tool: or...
The latter is pretty amazing as it walks through the questions we ask every day to help people find the best plan..
As close as we have to slam dunk.
Part of our service is to let you know where the income breaks are in case you are close to one that will give you an advantage.
This is an important one..
When we first started in 2014, we had 3-4 carriers with PPO plans on the market.
Now..2 carriers (for now anyway).
Blue Shield of California.
Health Net has joined the fray in some areas.
there are some epo's on the market still but the biggest one,
In some counties, we only had Anthem and Blue Shield. For an explanation of
difference between EPO and PPO. Difference between
HMO and PPO. Which brings up a good point. What about Blue Shield HMO? Good question. Shield does offer HMO's in more populous areas but it's been strange. This is very unusual since HMO's are generally cheaper for the same type
benefits. PPO's have a broader network, more flexibility, and "management" of care. They should be more expensive. What about doctors/facility changes? At the end of each year, we see a reshuffling of networks. Some doctors come. Some doctors leave. It's really important to re-evaluate before using providers. In a perfect world, your providers would let you know if they made changes. That's rarely the case so we have to check. When you run your quote below, you'll a link for doctor search under any
given Blue Shield plan. If your doctor doesn't show up in the online directory (available through
quote by clicking on "Find Doctors", don't despair. Many times, a doctor will bill under a medical group or not show in the
online directory even though they are in-network. Also, there is always a lot of change at Open Enrollment. Providers will join and leave various networks based on contract changes with
the insurance companies. If you email us your doctors and
cities, we can research this for you. Occasionally, the HMO plans have been more expensive than their PPO plans for the same
person.
Is my Doctor/Hospital in Blue Shield's Network
Call your doctor's office and ask them if they "Participate with Covered
California Blue Shield PPO?"
Blue Shield's PPO plans (Covered Ca market) no longer participate in the
Blue Card network (providers in other States). Anthem's EPO is the
only plan that still has this.
So...where does Blue Shield do well in each area??
There will be some smaller EPO plans available in bigger areas (LA county, etc) but for PPO, it's Shield.
You can learn about the difference between EPO and PPO here.
Shield's HMO's have become more competitive on the market.
The only reason you would look at that is if your doctor only took their HMO.
Within the PPO suite of plans, the basic rules on picking the best plan apply.
First, Shield's HSA plan (Bronze HDHP option in quote) is the best option since it has a per person single deductible versus a cumulative deductible.
This works better when one family member has really big bills in a year.
Beyond the HSA plan (more info on how HSA works here), how do we find the best Blue Shield plan?
Use the PlanFinder!
We've taken 10's of 1000's of conversations and boiled them down to the key questions/decisions we come across when selecting a health plan.
It's available here:
This will address 90% of your questions.
We're here for the rest.
Call 800-320-6269 or email us with any questions!
A resounding YES!
Blue Shield is the only carrier with near full-State coverage going forward.
This is a big deal.
In many counties, they are the only carrier.
Keep in mind that by law, the plans, rates, and networks must be the same in or out of network.
For that reason, Blue Shield through Covered Ca is the way to go.
You can quote Blue Shield with Covered Ca here and enroll in Covered Ca Blue Shield plans here.
How to Quote Covered Ca Blue Shield Plans:
That's it!
We've made this even easier.
How to enroll in Blue Shield through Covered Ca:
That's it.
We have people thank us up and down for this. Truly makes the process easy and there's no cost for our assistance!
Great question.
When you run your quote here, you can quote either off or on-exchange and see for yourself.
One note...if eligible for a tax credit, we can only get it if enrolled on-exchange.
Go on-exchange.
It's faster. It's easier (with the link here). More importantly, you may be eligible for $1000's in tax credits.
Even if you're not, we've made it an easier process.
Access quote here:
Yes. For one reason.
They have the only PPO on the market now.
The PPO offers the most flexibility. The most control. The most doctors.
If you want control of your medical decisions and the widest access to doctors, it's Blue Shield of California in Covered Ca for now.
Remember, you can only get the tax credit via Covered Ca (enroll here) and that's THE big deal right now.
We covered the big ticket items.
Anthem left big parts of the State which leaves Blue Shield as the de facto carrier in many counties.
The last PPO carrier in most counties!
Here's How to Find the Best Blue Shield Plan Through Covered Ca:
That's it!
We're seeing a major shift in the California individual and family health market.
Blue Shield of California.
This transition has been happening over the past 3-5 years but this year is definitely a watershed moment in the transition.
Please let us know how we can help.
Again, there is absolutely no cost to you for our services. Call
800-320-6269 Today!