Independence Blue Cross Health Insurance
Independence Blue Cross is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor, the contents of this webpage or the HealthInsuranceCoverage.com website.
Independence Blue Cross was established in 1938 as the Associated Hospital Service of Philadelphia as the first pre-paid hospitalization plan in southwestern Pennsylvania. In 1988, it became Independence Blue Cross. Today, Independence Blue Cross is the largest insurer in the region with over 2.6 million local members.
Independence Blue Cross health insurance offers individual coverage and group plans. The individual plans include Individual and Family, Medicare, low-income, student health and self-employed. Group coverage includes a group student plan, 2-9 employees, 10-99 employees and 100+ employees. Independence Blue Cross's website contains links to assist in researching its various plans, which are further broken down into optional benefits: medical and prescription drug plans, health savings accounts, supplemental plans and Medicare plans.
One of the company's most popular plans is group coverage for 10-99 employees PPO, which offers the Personal Choice High Deductible plan. Independence Blue Cross recommends pairing this with a health savings account to create a BlueSaver Health Account Solution. This combination reduces premiums that are owed by the employer and/or employee by increasing the annual deductible; however, with the health savings account in conjunction with the Personal Choice High Deductible Plan, funds to which the policyholder contributes monthly are in place as reserve to cover all or at least a portion of that deductible. Another one of the advantages of the Independence Blue Cross health insurance group plans is that no medical questionnaires or underwriting are required for group sizes of 2-99, therefore pre-existing conditions are not a concern and premium rates are not affected. Independence Blue Cross also offers supplemental plans that include Concordia dental programs, the IBC vision program, and life and disability coverage. Medicare plans include the Keystone 65 HMO and the Personal Choice 65 PPO.
Independence Blue Cross has established various community programs to assist in making health insurance more affordable for nearly 166,000 residents of southeastern Pennsylvania, having invested $77 million to such programs in 2006. Independence Blue Cross had created three programs that offer insurance at little to no cost. These programs are the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), AdultBasic (a low-income plan) and Special Care, which offers low-cost, fee-for-service coverage for individuals who do not qualify for Medical Assistance or Medicare but cannot afford private coverage. Independence Blue Cross also has a job opportunities program and hosts a series of recruiting/networking events.
The chairman of Independence Blue Cross, M. Walter D'Alessio, concluded his 2008 annual report introductory letter by stating the company's mission, "Building the health of our members and strengthening the well-being of our community by improving access to affordable, quality healthcare."
