Applicants applying for Blue Advantage, Blue Advantage Saver and Blue Options HSA coverage will be considered using any or all of the following:
• Review of the application
• Telephone interview with applicant, parent if child under 18 years of age and/or legal guardian
• Medical history obtained from attending physician
• BCBSNC Medical Underwriting Guidelines
• BCBSNC claims history, if available
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) always promotes a healthy lifestyle. You could reduce your monthly rate as much as 15% if you qualify for this discount. This rating tier is referred to as “Preferred Plus” – if you do not smoke, you do not have any pre-existing health conditions, lead a healthy lifestyle, if you are not taking any medications and if your height and weight ratio is within Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s preferred guidelines, you may qualify for this discount.
It does not cost anything to apply for our Blue Advantage or Blue Options HSA plans to determine if you qualify for this discount. After you apply, your application is submitted to underwriting for final approval. Once approved, you view your final rates, you have the ability to change to any plan available and enroll in your policy. If you determine you do not want to proceed with acquiring the coverage, you have the option of deleting your application. You are not under any obligation to purchase the plan once you have received final rates and approval. Also, compare our Blue Advantage plans to our Blue Options HSA for even more costs savings. (more…)
What rates are you currently quoting?
We are currently quoting rate increases for our HSA product averaging slightly over 3 percent and employer group rate increases that are averaging in the mid teens (effective for the first quarter of 2010). Our rates are approved by the North Carolina Department of Insurance. The rates of specific employer groups can vary because of a number of factors that affect the potential medical costs of those groups. The factors include the health circumstances of employees, age and gender of the workforce, benefit levels chosen and the medical costs of the counties in which the employees live.
What about individual rates?
We are currently quoting individual premium increases averaging 12.24 percent (for the first quarter of 2010). Our average rate increase for the HSA product is slightly over 3 percent. Our rates are approved by the N.C. Department of Insurance. Rates for individuals can vary because of a number of factors that affect the potential medical costs of those groups. The factors include the age and gender of the workforce, benefit levels chosen and the medical costs of the counties in which the employees live.
CAN YOU PURCHASE A “CHILD ONLY” POLICY?
As an agency, we receive many calls each day from parents who are looking to purchase private health insurance for their child and/or children. Circumstances could vary from removing a dependent off an employee group health insurance policy to saving money in premium, a child reaching maturity, a new birth, marriage and an array of different circumstances. The answer is YES… Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) provides health insurance beginning at birth. To apply for private insurance for your child click here and complete the form with all information and we will immediately send you an email with the quote and on-line application for Blue Advantage. The good news, child only policies are affordable and provide excellent insurance coverage. You can select from a variety of coverage that works in your budget, 100%, 80% or 70% plans. With Blue Advantage, Plan A, you pay just a $15.00 co-payment to visit your primary care physician and only $30.00 to see a specialist, neither are subject to the deductible or co-insurance. Prescription drug benefits are available under these Blue Advantage plans with only a $10.00 co-payment for generic drugs, $35.00 for preferred and $50.00 for non-preferred and 25% co-insurance for specialty drugs. Plan B and C require a deductible before prescription co-payments begin, Plan A does not. (more…)
A traditional PPO, BCBSNC’s Blue Advantage offers great coverage, a range of premium and deductible options to meet your budget. You can provide coverage for your child/children or for your entire family. Often times, if covered under a group sponsored plan, an employee will move their children to a private plan to save in premium.
THE INVINCIBLES
They’re young. They’re just starting out. They’re often paid lower wages. And, in some cases, they can’t imagine themselves as sick or helpless. They’re used to being covered on their parents’ plans, but they’ve reached the age when they’re no longer eligible for dependent coverage. Whatever the reason, those from 18 to 34 comprise the group that’s most likely not to have health insurance coverage.* As a result, preventive care is neglected, routine checkups are delayed, and needless financial and physical suffering is experienced (more…)
“Why?” That is the question some of my family and friends asked me when I told them I was going to participate in the Nelson Bay Challenge, a local sprint triathlon. “Aren’t you getting a little old to push yourself so hard?” That was another question, with concerns that I might actually kill myself during the training process or the race itself. I only had one answer – why not? I have always liked setting specific physical fitness goals for myself and I thought a sprint triathlon could help add some spark to my workout routine. Another perk………the training program could also help me win some prizes through Blue Points, the health and wellness program offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to promote physical fitness activities.
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For more information on North Carolina health insurance, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our professional authorized agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health, call all our office for details.
Just because health insurance is not on “Ophra’s List of Favorite Things” does not mean you should not consider it as an important item for the holidays or anytime for that matter. Lets think about the people that have beautiful homes, nice cars, cell phones, computer games, beautiful clothes, but they don’t have health insurance for their families. What happens when sickness or tragedy comes knocking on your door, how do you protect your family from the financial disaster that comes when you don’t have health insurance?
Many people often ask us how the process for applying for health coverage begins and ends…
Requesting a Quote:
Applying for insurance with BCBSNC is a very simple process. It does not cost anything to apply and you will have the opportunity to review your final rate before accepting a plan and making payment. To apply for Blue Advantage, Blue Options HSA and Dental Blue, you must first request and receive a personalized quote. Simply click here to request your personal quote and apply today. Next, your request will be submitted and received by Jerry Ballard & Associates. We will process your request and send your personalized quote to you via email. The quote will be emailed from ratequote@bcbsnc.com. Once you receive the email, you will want to be sure and turn off pop-up blockers and make sure the email did not go to any spam files.
Receiving Your Quote:
In the body of the email, you will see a link that says, View Your Rate Quote Here. Simply click on the link and your personalized quote will populate with all the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina plans and premiums you requested. A yellow apply button will appear to the right of each plan/premium. Click the yellow apply button to begin your online application process. Call our office (888-765-5400) so we can go over the plans with you and answer any questions about the benefits associated with these plans.
The Application:
The application itself takes 10-15 minutes to complete. You will create a user id and password that you will need to write down for future access into the application. You and other applicants will answer health questions pertaining to your health. In addition, you will enter any prior insurance coverage. Once submitted, the application will either be auto approved or submitted for further underwriting with BCBSNC.
Auto-Approved:
This simply means that your application received a final rate automatically. You will see this final rate at the end of the application. If you are in exceptionally good health and fall within the Preferred Plus guidelines set out by BCBSNC, you may qualify for a 15% healthy discount in your monthly premium. Many people will receive the preferred quoted rate. Some based on their individual health, could receive a rate increase.
Underwriting Review:
Blue Cross Blue Shield may require further information from you such as a telephone interview, a paramedical exam, or medical records. Our customer service representative and BCBSNC will contact you if this is required. All of these are processed with no cost to you. A telephone interview involves a phone conversation between the underwriting interviewer and the applicant confirming information on the application. The paramedical exam is a small physical exam that is performed by a nurse at your convenience at your home or work. An analysis of height, weight, blood pressure, blood work and urinalysis could be a part of the paramedical exam. Medical records may be requested from one of your health care providers. We recommend that you call that provider and let them know to be expecting this request so that they can process it in a timely manner.
Final Approval after Underwriting:
Once your final rate is approved, BCBSNC and our office will contact you to resume your application (with the user id and password you created), view your quote, accept and make payment. Once you open up the application, you will view the final rate for the plan that you applied for with BCBSNC. Before accepting this plan, you have the options to change to any plan that BCBSNC offers to you. For example, if you applied for Plan A 80% coinsurance with $2500 deductible, you can click on “Lower Cost Options” or “All Available Plans” and switch to any of those plans. This allows for more decision making based on the final rate and gives the applicant more choices.
Making payment:
There are 2 payment options for Blue Advantage and Blue Options HSA. Bank Draft or Direct Bill. We encourage Bank Draft because it is convenient and you never have to worry about a lost bill in the mail. On-going Bank Drafts occur on the 2nd of each month for 1st of the month effective dates and the 12th of the month of 15th of the month effective dates. Initial Bank Draft payments for any effective date will occur on the 2nd of the month that the policy becomes effective. Direct Bill, requires an initial payment to be made by credit card online. The credit card will be processed for payment on the day it is entered. You will receive subsequent bills by mail each month with a due date of the 1st (for effective dates on the 1st) or the 15th (for effective dates on the 15th).
Benefits Booklets and ID Cards:
These are mailed to the address you provided on your application within 10 business days. On the 2nd page of the booklet, you will find your id cards.
For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health. Call us for details.
Yearly eye exams are a good idea. Some people actually have concerns that warrant exams or office visits more often than once per year. One must understand that an eye examination is not only a simple vision check. A comprehensive eye examination is a fairly complicated series of tests that not only checks your eye sight, but also neurological function, eye pressure, eye muscle coordination and health of the external and internal eye structures.
At around six months and again at 3 years of age, most pediatricians screen children for potential eye problems. If you are concerned about something or have a family history of childhood eye problems, then (more…)
HEALTH CARE COVERAGE DESIGNED FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
Whether you are looking for traditional PPO or a high-deductible health plan, Blue Advantage and Blue Options HSA plans offer choices to meet your needs and your budget. Both plans offer protection against covered services that can be expensive. And with either plan, you’re covered up to a least $5 million for covered expenses over your lifetime.
888-765-5400