There are many choices relating to Arizona short term health insurance, group health insurance, individual health insurance, and Arizona Medicare supplement policies in Arizona. Which insurance company offers the best coverage for the least cost is priority number one, but determining which company is best can be daunting.
President Lincoln once said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” For over eighty-five years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona has offered health insurance. They are the largest local non-profit health insurance company in the state and have remained so for over eighty-five years. As a non-profit organization, consumers looking for the most competitively priced health insurance can rely on BCBSAZ. They have several hundred million dollars in reserves, which means they are financially stable. When comparing carriers that offer health insurance, please take the time to visit the Arizona Department of Insurance website and check out the financial stability and number of complaints each company has. There is also a link to see if your broker is licensed, and any complaints filed against them. You will find that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona has an extremely low number of complaints when considering that they generate over two billion dollars in premium each year. Of all the health insurance carriers in the state, only one can honestly claim to have, on average, a 95% approval rating, and recently was awarded the J.D. Power and Associates award for best PPO in the region. BCBSAZ is also consistently voted the #1 PPO in the annual Ranking Arizona edition of Arizona Business Magazine.
The question to ask yourself is how does Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona have such a stellar reputation among all health insurance companies in Arizona, and maintain this reputation decade after decade? Remembering what President Lincoln said, is it possible that so many in Arizona who have given this health insurance company such high marks could all be wrong? Of course not. The reason is simple, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona does what they say they are going to do, at a fair price, offering health insurance products that fit the needs of those in Arizona. And speaking of price, when an honest apple to apples comparison is done between a BCBSAZ policy and that of a competitor, the Blue Cross Arizona policy will cost members less, both in premium, and out of pocket expenses. Year in and year out, Blue Cross of Arizona has considerably lower rate increases than most other carriers. Of all the health insurance in AZ carriers, BCBSAZ has, by far, the lowest pre-determined negotiated rates with providers than any other carrier. What this means for you is lower out of pocket expenses, because these negotiated rates are passed along to you. Purchasing a high deductible plan is recommended. Your premiums will be lower due to the higher deductible, but when a claim does occur, you will only have to pay the lower, negotiated rate for in-network medical services instead of full retail. With an HSA you can pay for much of these medical expenses with tax-free dollars that you set aside in a Health Savings Account through your bank or an HSA BCBSAZ partner. Also helpful is the fact that as a member of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, you can look up the actual cost local providers will charge for many medical procedures such as an MRI or birth of a child. You will be shocked at the varying prices charged for identical procedures at the different hospitals and doctor’s offices around town. As an example, an MRI on a left shoulder may cost $350.00 at a stand-alone MRI office, while at the local hospital it will cost at least $1000.00 more!
Health Insurance In AZ
There has been a lot of talk from politicians stating that, by passing the Patient Protection and Affordability Act, “Obamacare,” law, insurers can no longer cancel policyholder’s coverage due to large claims, or mistakes made on the initial application. Did you know that of the nearly 365,000 individual policies Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona sold in the last year before the ACA became fully implemented in 2014, ONE policy was canceled due to fraud. 99.9999% of the time when BCBSAZ discovered that a pre-existing condition existed, but was not disclosed on the application, the claim was denied, but the policy was not canceled. Today, of course, pre-existing conditions are not a consideration when applying for coverage, as you cannot be denied a policy due to these conditions. All policies are guaranteed issue during open enrollment and certain qualifying events.