If you are a young adult, you have quite a few options for coverage. You can get coverage through an employer. You can stay on your parents plan until age 26, and after that you can continue coverage under COBRA, or the State of Illinois Continuation law for a period of time. You can get coverage through a college or university. Or, if you are over 18, you can get your own personal policy. Younger males between 18 and 29 years of age are considered very good risks and have the best premiums for a personal health insurance policy. Females that age are second best pricing, if you choose not to have maternity coverage. Many employers have been paying less and less for the employees coverage on a group plan. If an employer pays less than 50%, young adults can get better pricing with their own policy. If your a female and need maternity coverage, a group plan with your employer is probably a better option for you. Many group plans are composite rated, meaning that the demographics, including ages, are blended to an average of the groups demographics or age and pricing is a reflection of the make up of the group. If your personal situation is under the average of your group and you’re in good healthy condition, you might find better rates or coverage on your own. You should also consider buying your own personal policy if you are self-employed, unemployed, a student, or if you are a non-smoker or don’t need maternity coverage.
As an example,
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois offers a unique range of health insurance plans that are now available to individual adults and families. Each plan is backed by the financial strength and stability of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. Regardless of the plan you select, you will benefit from the experience, expertise and stability of the leading health insurer in Illinois.
At the present time, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois offers only Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) programs for their personal individual/family policies. There are two different PPO hospital and doctor lists, many deductibles with varying out of pocket costs and HSA plans. Please review the Product Comparison Chart for all the differences in the plan designs.
The following are Blue Cross specific PDF documents for individuals, families and young adults:
I would recommend that you price up three different programs.
- Select Blue with a higher deductible, $1,000 or higher depending on you preference. The Select Blue Plan includes a $20 office visit co-pay and 100%/no deductible emergency coverage. I like this plan as normal doctor visits and emergencies are taken care of, but you still have better pricing because of the higher deductible.
- The second option is the Blue Value plan, everything is the same as above, but without the $20 office visit co-pay. Any office visit charge is still a covered expense, but is subject to the deductible and co-insurance. This plan is a little less expensive than the Select Blue.On both of these plans I would recommend going with the 80% co-insurance. The way this works is you have your deductible first, then the plan either pays A) 100%, or B) 80% BlueCross, 20% you, for the next $5,000 in bills, then 100%. The 20% you pay equals $1,000 plus your deductible. I think the premium savings well offsets the risk.
- Otherwise, the last plan you should look at is the $5,000 deductible 100%, H S A plan. If you can handle the $5,000 deductible, this plan is a lot less in premium and has deductibility options from a tax stand point. Please visit the H.S.A. page for more info.
