Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Business Login Updated FREE

According to the National Committee for Quality Balls, Blue Cantankerous Blue Shield (BCBS) offers some of the best and most comprehensive coverage in the country. Still, with a range of plans available, it's non always obvious which pick is right for you.

Fortunately, choosing a programme doesn't have to exist difficult. Whether you're looking for a plan as an individual, couple or family, this guide can tell you what you lot demand to know nigh BCBS health insurance.

Understanding HMOs

Earlier you lot choose a BCBS program, you should understand the differences between the two most common forms of health insurance. The commencement is a wellness maintenance system (HMO). With an HMO, you generally accept i chief care physician that y'all see for all of your needs. If you require a specialist for a medical trouble outside of your principal care physician's range of expertise, you will demand a referral — you cannot go directly to a specialist. (Obstetricians or gynecologists are normally an exception).

Additionally, if you see an expert outside of your network, there your insurance might not cover it unless information technology's an emergency. The reward of an HMO, all the same, is that claims don't have to exist filed as often since you'll likely receive most of your care in-network, and monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs (including prescriptions) are cheaper.

How PPOs Work

The other common kind of wellness insurance is a preferred provider organization (PPO). A PPO is more expensive simply also more flexible. Y'all have your choice of a large network of providers, and you tin meet a specialist without a referral. Worried nearly that discoloration on your toe boom? No worries — but call your insurance to brand sure they're in-network and y'all tin can make the date yourself.

Yet, you may need to pay a deductible to activate your coverage, and if you go out of network, you may have to cover the cost of the intendance upwards forepart before your PPO programme reimburses you. Not having a single doctor in charge of your healthcare also means coordinating it falls on you.

Plan Levels

If you previously received your insurance through work, you may exist used to choosing from a pocket-size pool of plans, receiving plan documents from your employer and having your premium deducted from your paycheck. Now that you're buying your ain insurance, however, y'all'll have many more plans to choose from. While y'all'll also need to make your own monthly payments and do your ain research when selecting a provider, yous're in a improve position to choose a program that meets your unique needs.

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers numerous plans that vary from state to country and even by year. However, like nigh wellness insurance plans, the vast majority of them can be divided into different coverage levels as mandated by the Affordable Care Act: bronze, silvery and gilded. They generally work the way you lot would look, with each tier offering slightly better coverage: 60 percent of costs are absorbed on boilerplate by a bronze program, 70 percent for argent and fourscore percent for gilt. Withal, if your income is four times the federal poverty level or less, you tin qualify for subsidies that lower the cost fifty-fifty further for silver plans. The Avant-garde Premium Taxation Credit can likewise be applied to plans of whatever level.

Blueish Cross Blueish Shield besides sells catastrophic plans, which generally cost less only only provide limited coverage. These plans are normally restricted to people under 30 in most circumstances.

Buying Your Plan

Blue Cross Blue Shield isn't really 1 company, but rather a network of 36 independent and locally operated insurance providers. Considering of that, yous'll need to contact your state's chapter of BCBS to acquire what plans are available where y'all alive. To do that, yous can visit the BCBS website and click the "Shop for Insurance" button in the acme-center of the screen. You'll exist prompted to enter your cypher code and then connected with your regional BCBS visitor. You can also call (888) 630-2583.

Photo Courtesy: Karen Bleier/Getty Images

Alternatively, you lot can review health insurance plans from BCBS and other companies at Healthcare.gov or your country's healthcare marketplace. Open enrollment is generally from November 1 to Dec 15, although information technology tin can vary in states with their own marketplaces, and employers can set up their own enrollment periods. You lot tin can as well enroll after certain life events, such as a move, loss of employer-provided insurance, wedlock, having a baby and more.