July 1, 2009 - Blue Shield of California is introducing two new, innovative individual and family California health insurance plans that are California Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible. The truly innovative feature of these plans is that they offer enrollees an opportunity to also enroll in a "rider" (extra feature at an additional cost) that will pay them money should they have a qualifying stay in the hospital during the first 12 months of coverage.
The rider is called the Bridge Plan and with it Blue Shield will pay a member (enrolled in either of the new Shield Savings 3500 or Shield Savings 5200 or the Shield Savings 4000/8000 plan) $1,500 if the member has a hospital stay of 72 consecutive hours or more during their first year of coverage. A new member enrolling in one of these plans must select the rider at the time of enrollment. It costs $60/year for an individual and $120/year for family coverage. These payments can be spread over a 12 month period.
The innovative feature of the Bridge Plan is that it addresses the fear that many people enrolled on high deductible plans have: that they will have to go into the hospital before they have had time to save money for the high deductible. California HSA plans forbid any sort of insurance coverage that would pay medical expenses (except preventative services) before the deductible has been satisfied. Presumably, Blue Shield of California has gotten around that restriction by having the Bridge Plan pay money directly to the member - not to a hospital. In this way, the Bridge Plan is similar to an AFLAC cash payment plan.
The Shield Savings 3500 and 5200 HSA compatible plans offer payment for preventive care before the deductible at no charge; lower premiums than most other Blue Shield plans; brand and generic prescription drugs after the deductible has been satisfied; family coverage has an "embedded deductible"; but no maternity coverage.
If you want to see if these plans are right for you,
click here to get a get a quote.
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