Blue Cross & Blue Shield NC History

Each state has its own Blue Cross and Blue Shield franchise. Most consumers logically think that they are one big insurance carrier. They actually are not. Each state has its own Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, and they work together or at least they’re supposed to, so that if you travel out of state you will still have temporary coverage.

However if you move to another state, you would really need to apply to that state Blue Cross Blue Shield company in order to continuously have coverage or you will pay through the nose for a Blue Cross conversion plan.

The Blue Shield Association is a really incredible group made up of over 38 separate health insurance companies who insure over 100 million Americans, effectively making the Association the largest provider of health insurance benefits in the USA.

The first Blue Cross insurance company started in 1929, while Blue Shield was organized in 1939. Originally these were two separate companies, and the Blue Cross Association started in 1960, of course the Blue Shield Association was created in 1948 in both organizations merge creating one entity in 1982.

Originally Blue Cross covered charges related to hospital services and Blue Shield covered Dr. services. If you think about it that’s very similar to how Medicare works. Medicare part a covers hospital charges and Medicare part B covers Dr. charges and outpatient care.

As a resident of North Carolina, you can apply for an individual and family health insurance policy from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina called the blue advantage plan. This is a quality health insurance product that utilizes a preferred provider organization or PPO, so that you can use in and out of network providers while enjoying the lowest out-of-pocket costs for using Blue Cross doctors.

If you’re a healthy person you’ll be happy to know that BCBSNC’s Blue Advantage policy, will ensure you for the lowest rate possible in the state of North Carolina.

The great thing about this Blue Cross North Carolina health insurance plan is that even if you are not so healthy, they will still issue you coverage at a higher rate than what you applied for.

Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina and the NC Health Insurance Market Today

Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBSNC) have officially dominated the North Carolina private health insurance market. They insure over 3 million North Carolina residents including over 500,000 clients on behalf of out-of-state Blue Cross plans.

One of the many benefits of having your health insurance will Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, is that you have access to one of the value added platforms called “Blue Extras”. This extra benefit provides the consumer with discounts on a wide range of services that all related and intended to keep you healthy.

In addition to providing you with quality health insurance benefits at an affordable rate for the past 70 years, Blue Cross can also save you money on your life insurance, dental, long-term care and of course disability insurance.

Types of NC Health Insurance Plans

North Carolina is not only home to some of the finest physicians, hospitals and nurses in the country. It is also home to some of the most affordable and benefit rich health insurance programs in the nation.

Every year the cost of healthcare gets higher and higher, and if you go without health insurance in North Carolina you are putting yourself at the financial risk if given major illness, or even a routine accident. With a quality and affordable North Carolina health insurance plan you can protect not only yourself and your family from the denial of expensive medical treatment, but you can have a third-party which would be the insurance company pay those medical bills after your out-of-pocket cost have been met.

Most NC residents get their health insurance through an employer-sponsored group plan. This mode of health insurance is the least expensive, at least as far as the employee is concerned. The employer probably has an entirely different point of view, since most employers pay about 50% of the cost of their employees health insurance.

The two most popular kinds of medical insurance plans in North Carolina are HMO and PPO plans. In HMO offers you lower out-of-pocket costs if you need to see a doctor or going to the hospital. This is in return for the HMO plan managing your healthcare. For example with an HMO, you typically need to get a referral from your primary care doctor to see a specialist or to get pre-authorization from the HMO insurance plan to get approval for non-emergency surgery.

A PPO health insurance policy will provide you with full coverage at an affordable rate. You may choose to use any doctor or hospital you like, it does not matter if you’re in or out of the network, you are still covered. The the difference is that your out-of-pocket cost for medical services will be higher if you use out-of-network providers. The reason for this is that when a provider joins the network they are green to contracted rates with the insurance company such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. If you’re going to an out-of-network provider, there is no contract in place to cap rates.

If you would like to start saving up to $600 per year on your North Carolina health insurance premiums, then fill out one of our brief questionnaire to the right that will allow us to design a custom health insurance proposal that fits your specific needs from a “no pressure local agent” who is licensed and lives in the state of North Carolina.