Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance Illinois

Any search for good health insurance in Illinois will quickly identify Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance as one of the most popular programs in the state. Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance covers single people and families, and is available as a group product or individually. In addition, Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance provides Medicare supplement insurance for millions of retired Americans on Medicare.

Blue Cross Blue Shield History

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield organization has a long history of providing quality insurance products to Americans since 1929, when the organization that became Blue Cross started providing hospitalization coverage to teachers for $6.00 monthly. Since then it’s grown to become the largest health insurance provider in the nation, providing coverage for over 100 million Americans in most states.

The Blue Shield organization started in 1939, offering insurance for medical services. The two organizations grew more or less independently until they merged in 1962. While most of the state organizations sell only health insurance, some also offer life insurance and other insurance products as well.

Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance Options

Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans are designed for a diverse population. Plans are available for singles, couples and families, and can be customized to fit the special circumstances that make your situation unique. For example, young singles and married couples in good health may find themselves best served by the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) option, called Blue Choice. Premiums are lower but provider choice is limited to the network, with members having to pay the entire cost of visiting out-of-network providers. Others may find that the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) option is more appropriate for them. This option has a higher premium rate than the HMO, but members can visit out-of-network providers without having to pay the entire cost out of pocket.

Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans can be “tweaked” to provide greater premium cost reductions. There are two ways to do this. The first is to increase the share of actual costs that the participant pays, either by increasing the annual deductible or by increasing the co-insurance amount, often called the co-pay, or both. For relatively healthy participants, this is an excellent approach, because it’s reasonable to expect that the insurance will be used rarely. Participants with Health Savings Accounts (HSA) can use these tax-free funds to pay the out-of-pocket costs, thus saving further.

The second way to tweak an Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan is to modify some of the coverage options. Maternity and dental benefits, for example, are optional in many plans.

Retirees on Medicare can purchase Medicare Supplement and Medicare Part D (prescription drug plan) coverage from Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield. Coverage details for Medicare Supplements cannot be tweaked to reduce costs because the coverage details are mandated by the Centers for Medicare Services (CMS), and cannot be altered; however, premium costs for Medicare-related plans are very competitive. Get your health insurance quotes Illinois today!

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