At Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, you have two choices when it comes to health insurance policies; the Blue Advantage and the Blue Options HSA. These two insurance plans from Blue Cross and Blue Shield both allow you to get the right kind of medical assistance from one of the widest networks of health professionals in the country. But which of the two is better for you?
The Blue Advantage health plan is the basic form of insurance that Blue Cross and Blue Shield has to offer. With this plan you can choose from a wide assortment of deductibles so you are in control of your monthly premiums, and this also provides you with low co-payment options for when you need to visit your primary physician or a specialist; especially if they are included in the network.
The Blue Options HSA on the other hand behaves like a bank account; you contribute money to your HSA, tax-free, and that money will be used to pay for your deductibles. You can choose how much you want to contribute to your HSA, as long as it is within the acceptable limits set by the IRS. You can contribute to your account whenever your budget permits you to, and since it is tax-free you stand to save a lot of money than actually paying for your deductibles in cash.
The way that HSA works is that you pay a low monthly premium (much lower than that of Blue Advantage) and you also pay for your contribution to your HSA, that money will stay in your account for until you need it. With the Blue Advantage insurance plan you will be paying a fixed monthly premium regardless of whether you use your insurance or not, with Blue Options HSA you can pay well above your premium (which is already low) so you can have money for your deductible payments.
