Purchasing Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Family Health Insurance

There are various different forms of health insurance available in the United States today including traditional indemnity (pay for service) cover, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs). In addition there is also a form of health insurance provided by mutual and stock companies, the best known of which is Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield, although often perceived as being one single entity, are in fact two separate organizations with Blue Cross Health Insurance providing hospital cover and Blue Shield Health Insurance providing cover for treatment by your physician. This said, both organizations are normally administered together and so, in reality, you end up dealing with a single health insurance provider.

Both Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which operate as a series of different companies covering individual states or regions, enter into an agreement with a hospital or a doctor to provide services to their members to a standard and at a price that is clearly specified in the agreement and which is generally at a rate which is considered to be ordinary and reasonably for the services being rendered.

You then join Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield and pay a monthly premium which, like any other form of health insurance, will depend upon various different factors including your age, current state of health, medical history and the services which you wish Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield to provide cover for.

The benefit for many in joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield is that, unlike many other forms of health insurance, you do not have to pay for treatment and then get involved in any of the normal paperwork for re-claiming your expenses. In the case of Blue Cross and Blue Shield payment is made directly to the hospital or doctor and this has the benefit of making life much easier for you and also for the insurer. For this reason, and because of its sheer size and buying power, Blue Cross and Blue Shield can often provide cover at a lower cost than many other insurers.

This said, Blue Cross and Blue Shield is not always the most cost effective options and you should treat Blue Cross and Blue Shield in exactly the same way as any other health insurance company when it comes to selecting a suitable health insurance plan to meet your own needs and those of your family.

If you are considering purchasing a health insurance plan then begin your search online and check out Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield family health insurance. Also, don't forget that many state laws benefit policyholders and you can get some excellent cover such as that provided by low cost California health insurance.

By Donald Saunders
Published: 2/18/2007