You get one shot each year to choose the right healthcare plan for your family.
What happens if you choose the wrong health care plan?
Will you end up paying more out of pocket or other additional cost if you’d chosen a different monthly premium?
Choosing a healthcare plan is a big decision. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) market place is a great tool for finding all of the health insurance plans available to you, but it can be a bit overwhelming to compare all of the different options available from the various health care providers. That’s why a Florida Blue plan for your family may be a good choice.
Managed by Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Florida Blue plans available from the health insurance market place offer affordable premiums and a variety of plans that offer different health care services with different deductibles and coinsurance or copay amounts to suit your family. Florida Blue: Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance has been providing quality customer care and service for over 70 years!
Health Insurance Market Place Florida Blue Plan Overview
The health insurance market place was created as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The market place allows you to apply for healthcare coverage online, submit any necessary documents, and select the coverage that fits you and your family’s lifestyle.
Open enrollment this year runs from November 1st, 2020 to December 15th, 2020. You’ll need to fill out your application and submit your documents as soon as possible to get your healthcare coverage and see if you qualify for any savings.
Many employers are required to offer their employees “minimum essential coverage”, or MEC. Some companies are exempt from this regulation, which means you’ll likely be using the market place to get health insurance.
Best Florida Blue Plan for Families
Florida consistently leads the nation in people who sign up for health coverage through the ACA. As a resident of Florida, you may be eligible for one of the best plans available through Florida Blue. You have a few options for plans, depending on your family size.
1. Individual Plans
Your family might just consist of one, so you’ll want an individual plan for yourself. An individual plan means you’ll have coverage just for yourself, with lower premiums than if you had a family plan. You’ll only have to worry about one deductible, as opposed to an individual and family deductible.
If you qualify for savings because you are low-income, you can apply those savings to individual plans. The amount of savings will vary from person to person, but it may give you the opportunity to upgrade to a better plan with more affordable deductibles.
2. Family Plans
If you need to add a spouse or dependent to your health insurance market place Florida Blue program, you’ll want to sign up for a family plan. A family plan can provide coverage for everyone that qualifies as a dependent. You may have individual deductibles in addition to your family deductibles, so pay close attention to your plan policy.
Depending on your income and family size, you may qualify for savings on your health coverage. You can use those savings on any of the Florida Blue plans offered through the healthcare market place.
3. Low-Income Plans
The good news is that even if you are considered low-income and qualify for savings on your monthly premium, you are still eligible to choose from any of the Florida Blue plans offered through the health insurance market place. Low-income is considered anything between $12,760 to $51,040 per year for an individual or $21,720 to $86,880 for a family of three.
Being considered low-income simply means you may qualify for tax credits for your premium. This is where you can leverage your savings to choose a better plan for you and your family.
What Else Do You Need to Know About Florida Blue Plans?
With a Florida Blue plan through the health insurance market place, there are a few things you need to know. Some important considerations are:
- Loss of Qualifying Coverage: Should you lose your MEC, you may qualify for a special enrollment period with a Florida Blue plan.
- Change in Household Size: If you gain a dependent or become a dependent of someone else, you should qualify for a special enrollment period. This may also be applicable if you’ve recently married, though stipulations may apply.
- Change in Primary Place of Living: If you move to a new place that offers different options, you should qualify to take advantage of the new plans.
- Change in Eligibility: If you were previously ineligible for coverage through the health insurance market place but have recently become eligible, you may qualify for a special enrollment period.
How to Choose the Best Florida Blue Plan for Your Family
Choosing the best Florida Blue plan for you and your family will depend on a number of different factors, including how often you visit the doctor, if you will be having any type of major procedures, and how much you can afford to pay out of pocket.
We all know that health insurance is seemingly complex, so let’s breakdown some of the terms and structures you’ll need to know about:
- Deductibles: This is an amount you are required to pay before your health insurance company begins to pay claims. Typically, a higher deductible means a lower premium.
- Copays: Copays are a fixed amount you pay for healthcare services. Depending on your plan, you may be responsible for your deductible before being able to make copayments.
- Co-Insurance: If you don’t have a copay, you may have a variable amount, usually a percentage, that you pay for healthcare services after you’ve met your deductible.
- Out-of-Pocket Maximums: As the name suggests, this is the maximum amount you’ll pay out of pocket for healthcare services covered by your healthcare plan.
- Premiums: This is the amount you pay each month for your health insurance.
Each of these is something that needs to be carefully compared across all of the available health insurance market place Florida Blue plans. Higher premiums usually mean lower deductibles and copayments or co-insurance, whereas lower premiums result in higher deductibles. This varies from plan to plan, of course, but this is a general rule of thumb.
Choosing a Florida Blue health insurance plan through Fiorella Insurance should be a simple decision that leaves you feeling confident. Through some due diligence and research, you should be able to find the best plan for your family.
A Fiorella Insurance Agent can help you choose insurance that’s right for you.
Want the best Florida Blue plan for you and your family? Contact Fiorella Insurance Agency today and we can connect you with the best options.
