Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Unveils Fresh Approach to Health Coverage with New Health Plans for Individuals, Families

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) today introduced five new individual health plan options to provide more choices to meet the varied needs and budgets of Arizonans. The new plans deliver rates that are as much as 40 percent lower than previous options, and combine a wider selection of coinsurance and deductible levels with varying levels of benefits.

“Arizonans want more choices and affordable options that include coverage for essential health care needs,” said Richard L. Boals, BCBSAZ president and CEO. “By matching our individual product line to fit the evolving health coverage needs of today’s customer, we are providing competitively priced products delivered with the quality and service customers have come to expect from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.”

The new BCBSAZ plans are:

• BlueOptimum – A Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan that features copays for many services and the broadest level of coverage among the new plans
• BlueValue – A PPO plan that features a mix of copay and coinsurance with lower premiums than Blue Optimum and copays for generic and some brand prescriptions
• BlueEssential – A low-cost PPO plan with basic coverage and a $1,000 cap on preventive care to help make the policy more affordable
• BluePortfolio – A high deductible PPO plan that can be paired with a Health Savings Account designed to promote more direct consumer control in health care spending
• BlueSecure and BlueSecure Plus – BCBSAZ’s two Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans

And with more than 16,000 contracted providers statewide, members also maintain the flexibility of choosing their health care provider from one of Arizona’s largest provider networks.

The new individual health insurance plans are part of BCBSAZ’s continuing effort to help make health insurance accessible to Arizonans. In addition to these individual products, over the past year, BCBSAZ has also launched nine new cost share options on existing group products, which are designed to meet the needs of Arizona businesses.

For more information about BCBSAZ’s individual health plans, including benefit summaries, visit azblue.com/NewPlans.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is the largest Arizona-based health insurance company. The not-for-profit company was founded in 1939 and provides health insurance products, services or networks to more than 1.1 million individuals. With offices in Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tempe and Tucson, the company employs more than 1,500 Arizonans. For information about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and its community programs, such as WalkingWorks, please visit azblue.com.