Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance Review

Is Blue Cross Blue Shield good?

Yes, overall Blue Cross Blue Shield is a good insurance company. More than 90% of doctors and hospitals in the nation accept BCBS insurance. Its widespread availability makes it simple to get care.

Keep in mind that your specific network of doctors varies based on your plan. BCBS also offers some helpful member benefits, like a mobile app and a 24/7 nurse line, that can make navigating your health care benefits easier.

BCBS is one of the largest health insurance companies in the nation and offers individual and family policies, group health insurance, Medicare coverage, dental insurance and vision insurance.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Silver plan monthly cost

Overall, Blue Cross Blue Shield is more expensive for individual health insurance than its competitors. BCBS has an average monthly rate of $603 for a 40-year-old with a Silver plan. That makes BCBS one of the most expensive options among major health insurance companies.

Cost of BCBS vs. competitors

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers all five plan tiers, although specific plan availability depends on where you live. Plans with less coverage cost less but generally make you pay more when you get medical care.

BCBS's health insurance plans can be bought on the federal marketplace or a state marketplace as well as directly from the company. You can choose between Catastrophic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans, although some aren't available in some areas. If you buy coverage on a marketplace, you may be able to lower your rate with premium tax credits if you meet income requirements.

Where is Blue Cross available?

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is made up of 34 different companies. That means available plans, costs and customer service quality vary depending on where you live. The plans themselves range too, with different deductible, coinsurance and copay options depending on your regional subsidiary.

Blue Cross Blue Shield costs by state

Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiaries typically operate in a specific region, which may cover one or more states. In some cases, multiple BCBS companies operate in a single state, and sometimes a single BCBS company offers coverage in several states. Coverage isn't always available statewide. Some BCBS entities may only offer policies in a few counties.

Largest BCBS subsidiary by state

Which Blue Cross Blue Shield plan is right for you?

Generally, Blue Cross Blue Shield offers private health insurance, group health insurance, vision and dental coverage, and Medicare options.

Each BCBS company controls its plan offerings, which means that options will differ by state and region. For example, Credence Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is part of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, may offer different plans than Blue Cross Blue Shield's Anthem subsidiary.

Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO and PPO plans

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers both HMO (health maintenance organization) and PPO (preferred provider organization) plans. Although the number and quality of BCBS HMO and PPO plans depends on where you live, you'll likely have access to at least one HMO and one PPO plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Similar to most health insurance companies, BCBS charges more for PPO plans compared to HMO plans. A typical HMO plan from BCBS will cost $539 per month on average for a 40-year-old with a Silver health plan. By contrast, a BCBS PPO plan costs $685 per month on average.

That comes out to a $1,752 per year difference. It may be worth paying the higher cost if you highly value seeing specialists without a referral or if you strongly prefer having more flexibility when it comes to choosing your doctor. However, budget-conscious consumers will usually be better served by an HMO plan.

Medicare

BCBS offers Medicare Advantage plans, which cost an average of $38 per month when drug coverage is included. Its plans are rated about average by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). However, individual plan ratings range widely.

Blue Cross Blue Shield also sells Medicare Supplement plans and separate Part D (drug coverage) plans. If you are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, BCBS has a plan that can get you the most value from both.

Highlights of these plans include large networks of doctors, gym and wellness benefits, coverage for hearing aids, and dental and vision benefits, depending on the plan you choose.

Member resources and unique benefits

Most Blue Cross Blue Shield companies offer a variety of member benefits, but those will change with the BCBS affiliate in your area. Some of the more common member benefits are:

Blue Cross Blue Shield reviews and customer complaints

Blue Cross plan quality and customer service vary widely depending on where you live because Blue Cross Blue Shield operates as a collection of semi-independent organizations. In some areas, BCBS has very high ratings and low customer complaint levels, while in other places it has below-average ratings.

For example, BCBS of Georgia gets 42% more complaints compared to an average health insurance company its size according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). However, BCBS of Illinois is part of Health Care Service Corp., which gets 57% fewer complaints than average according to the NAIC.

J.D. Power's 2023 health plan member satisfaction study also shows large differences between BCBS subsidiaries. Blue Cross Blue Shield scored last in California and well below average in Colorado. In contrast, BCBS subsidiaries took first place in Florida and the Delaware-West Virginia-Washington, D.C., region.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

Company- and plan-level health insurance rates are based on aggregated private health insurance data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for plans sold on HealthCare.gov. States that use their own health insurance marketplace rather than HeathCare.gov are not included in average rates. All rates are averages for a 40-year-old who doesn't smoke.

The average cost of a Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plan is based on data from Medicare.gov and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and includes drug coverage. Employer-sponsored plans, Medicare savings account (MSA) plans, Medicare-Medicaid plans, PACE plans, Part-B-only plans, prepayment plans (HCPPs), sanctioned plans and special needs plans are not included in average rates.