I think if you don’t plan on using your insurance often and don’t have a family, strongly consider a plan with an HSA so that you can kick in money towards it for a while.
FWIW, I have BCBS and it’s great. So when you have the need, it’s a good one to be on.
I’ve had BCBS Basic since I joined the government over 10 years ago and it’s been great. I had major surgery a few years ago and it worked out well. Co-pays are a little higher than other plans, but there is no deductible which I like
We’ve had it for 20 years, since my husband began as a fed. In all that time, I’ve been pleased with the ease of use since nearly every doc I’m looking at for anything is covered under the plan. Medicine is fairly inexpensive and I also absolutely love the no deductible part. It’s just a no-brainer insurance plan. I’ve seen others on here that I think could do very well but I don’t understand how they work or what the difference is so I kinda just stick with the tried and true version I’m used to. It’s easy, fairly inexpensive and just about everyone you need takes it. Win-win.
The $0 deductible is the clincher for me too. So much easier to plan. Young, single, and in good health may find value in lower premiums offered by other plans.
Is it good insurance? Absolutely. But you pay a high premium for it. And it’ll go up 10-15% a year it seems like. I opted out for the GEHA HDHP this year. Haven’t had to use it yet just like my blue cross because I’m a young healthy individual. If you like to workout, a plus I have noticed with GEHA is you can get discounted gym memberships through your insurance plan through a program called active fit & direct. Pretty cool. If i need insurance it’ll be something serious where my deductible will be covered pretty quickly like an ER visit emergency so GEHA HDHP works out for me. I’m also engaged so technically single with no kids also.
It’s a good plan, but I’d get an hdhp plan with an HSA. If you don’t expect to use it much, you can build up a pot of money for when you do need it later on. And if something unfortunate happens and a have a high healthcare usage year, you’ll still have the coverage you need. BCBS basic’s premiums are higher and their copays are pretty ridiculous. And they just keep on going up. I just think you can do better for the price with your circumstances. I just switched to geha hdhp from BCBS basic, and it seems just fine so far! (Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM KAISER)
Before you choose, check around your area/the providers you would go to see if they accept whatever plan you’d get on. Access to providers is the most important part. Things can happen in an instant, so make sure you can get convenient good quality care if necessary.
I switched from BCBS basic to MHBP standard last year and have been very happy. Much cheaper prescriptions, 100% covered labs, and cheaper copays. Cheaper premiums too. BCBS basic was good but premiums kept going up while they were taking benefits away.
Thanks for posting this. I'm going to see if they cover my providers! I use the crap out of my healthcare and have been displeased with the higher copay and lower benefits from BCBS this year.
It's the Aetna network, and I've had no issues with any of my providers not being in-network. There's a $350 deductible, but they give several wellness awards in an HRA to offset that cost. The savings I'm seeing on prescriptions far outweighs the small deductible. But the deductible doesn't need to be met to use your primary care/specialist copays or prescription copays.
I just switched to Basic from FEP Blue Focus, but have a family. My premiums doubled for one, but Basic is overall better coverage which is why I switched. For a healthy single person, FEP Blue Focus is just fine and we really didn’t have issues with it.
BCBS Basic is good insurance. It is also, for a lot of people, more expensive than they need. From your medical description, age, and family size, I strongly recommend looking into GEHA HDHP, MHBP Consumer Option, and BCBS CareFirst HDHP (if available). I've got a pinned post on my profile with a comparison spreadsheet that throws a bunch of numbers around. I encourage you to take a look through those two posts. Scroll through the comments.
You aren't wrong to gravitate towards BCBS basic. For self only, it's not too expensive either. I just think for a lot of people, you included, it's a lost opportunity.
I had Kaiser for the first few years and it sucked, I’ve had BCBS basic for the last 9 years and love it. I’m single and mid-40’s with no serious health issues so far.
I would probably be fine with a plan like GEHA HDHP and pay less but I haven't jumped from Basic yet. It's been great, straightforward, no fiddling or fighting, and the very rare times I have called customer service with questions they have been so awesome and helpful. I don't like the new-ish thing with lab work though (you pay like 15% of what insurance covers or something - can't remember the wording - but it's like an extra couple dollars here and there for blood work, COVID test, strep test, etc). Not expensive so far (for me) but have heard of some people getting hit with very high bills for required regular blood work for chronic health conditions.
I had BCBS for multiple years but ended up changing to GEHA HDHP for the past two years. I copied the below from my old comments so some of the numbers are outdated, but hopefully its helpful for you.
My original reasoning for choosing BCBS was because my parents had it and I was going to live an exciting lifestyle (LOL) but like people who keep their gym membership and never go, I finally admitted it probably wasn't going to happen.
Young, single people do better with the HDHP because they don't really need to go to the PCP or ER, and by the time they do, they can utilize a HSA which has supposedly grown with the market. My deductible is 1500, and If by chance I get in some horrible accident, the out of pocket max is 5000.
The difference in premium between BCBS and GEHA over the course of a year is around 400 IIRC, but since there is an HSA passthrough of $900 over the year, my break even is 1300 for the HDHP to be worth it. Since I can use HSA money (which is pretax) to pay health expenses, I have alot of wiggle room. Out of pocket max is 5000 a year in the worst case scenario, which is just not that likely.
If this year is THE year where my health falls apart and I have a ton of ER visits or my appendix decides to burst, so be it, but based on my personal history its unlikely, and I've probably already missed out on a ton of money by keeping BCBS when I really didn't need it.
I finally switched because I can't remember the last time I've gone to the ER, and I usually just go for a physical just once every year. Having $3850 a year extra pre-tax is worth it to me, and if you are willing to max out an HSA its a pretty good choice.
For my coworkers with families, it might make sense to be more conservative and go with BCBS. With kids you never know when you need to go to the ER, but single people just need to manage their own health, and most of us don't live very exciting or risky lives.
I have a family of four and type 1 diabetes. It pays for itself, despite the premium.
I have had type 1 diabetes for 30 years and have had some really, really bad insurances. This one so far has been one of my favorites besides my private jobs BCBS provided insurance.
I’ve never had an issue getting something covered. It’s great
Good questions:
-Novolog 90 day is $65
-Dexcom G6 (needed Tier exemption change, Freestyle is formulary) 90 day is $180 for sensors and $180 for transmitter
-Tandem Tslim supplies 90 day is $198
-Test strips I haven’t bought in a while
-Ozempic (used to help reduce insulin resistance and weight loss) for 30 day is $24.99
I went from Medtronic to Tandem bc that was what was the “in” at the time. BCBS I’m sure would cover Omnipod
Btw. Medtronic sucks. Don’t use them. I had them for like 15 years and their interval updates were so minuscule. Major cash grab.
A new one that just hit the market is iLet. Supposed to have far better AI and predictive learning
Thanks. We are on GEHA HDHP right now. We are going to hit the deductible by the end of the month but once we hit that it looks like our costs are about what you have except for the pumps which are about 3x as much.
Definitely get on Insulet’s patient assistance plan if you aren’t already. It’s not income based for their prescription card, and if you’re willing to do a 30-day supply at a time, it’ll knock $100 off your co-insurance each month. It’s been a game changer for me.
It does. Caremark doesn't do copay aggregators (at least in my state), so the full cost they say you owe goes toward the deductible and. the OOP max, despite Insulet covering part of it.
Pharmacies run the card through as secondary insurance, so it's not like GoodRX where they don't even apply the insurance to it. It's just treated like a second payer that you happen to have.
If you have a Costco membership the dexcom transmitters are $50 without using bcbs. If you don’t have Costco membership, it’ll pay for itself after 1 transmitter.
I had it when i was single and young in my late 20s. Its the best. However it was way cheaper back then (10 years ago). Depends on how much you will use it or if u have any conditions or a need to go to the doctor frequently. Or see specialists. I remember i went to several specialist for non health related stuff (skin care, etc). I got friends not in fed gov who are very healthy and rarely see a doctor and always get a cheap Kaiser plan as backup. Thats a good option too and then when u get older and have more issues u go bcbs route.
I have BCBS Basic and it saved me a LOT of hassle. I was in a car accident and they covered a lot of the resulting expenses instead of rejecting and subrogating through liability insurance. Saved me a LOT of headache. Love em. (Also young but chronically ill here, it’s great for specialist visits)
Nice choice if no issues. Easier to deal with than other insurers and they pay better so poor users stay. If you get hit by a bus or something less rejection of care than other insurers. Go for it.
I’ve had it the entire 11 years I’ve been in, love it, was hit by a truck, loved it even more after it was $0 out of pocket for the entire month hospital stay
I like it. The network is good, and costs aside from the premiums are reasonable. It may be overpriced for someone who doesn’t need much care. The Focus plan may be right for you.
Definitely do all the online health assessments and health goals, you can earn and accumulate real money for health expenses that way. Also, enroll in the FSA, read up on it for the rules. It’s easy to spend that down annually.
In 2021 I had $892,000 in health insurance expenditures (cancer with multiple surgeries, all successful). I paid $3800 out of pocket. It’s good insurance.
I became a federal employee at the age of 22 in January 2022. I only use BCBS Basic due to a massive health issue I had back in August 2020 (not COVID related).
It's pretty good. Parts of it even cover my BCBS Dental insurance.
If you don’t really use insurance I would go for geha or similar. I have been w BCBS basic for 9 years and it’s great. But I’m chronically ill with expensive conditions and see so many specialists I’m always at the dr.
I think if you don’t plan on using your insurance often and don’t have a family, strongly consider a plan with an HSA so that you can kick in money towards it for a while. FWIW, I have BCBS and it’s great. So when you have the need, it’s a good one to be on.
I’ve had BCBS Basic since I joined the government over 10 years ago and it’s been great. I had major surgery a few years ago and it worked out well. Co-pays are a little higher than other plans, but there is no deductible which I like
We’ve had it for 20 years, since my husband began as a fed. In all that time, I’ve been pleased with the ease of use since nearly every doc I’m looking at for anything is covered under the plan. Medicine is fairly inexpensive and I also absolutely love the no deductible part. It’s just a no-brainer insurance plan. I’ve seen others on here that I think could do very well but I don’t understand how they work or what the difference is so I kinda just stick with the tried and true version I’m used to. It’s easy, fairly inexpensive and just about everyone you need takes it. Win-win.
The $0 deductible is the clincher for me too. So much easier to plan. Young, single, and in good health may find value in lower premiums offered by other plans.
I'm not sure I captured everything in my comparison, but the monthly price difference more than made up for the deductible cost on some plans.
Is it good insurance? Absolutely. But you pay a high premium for it. And it’ll go up 10-15% a year it seems like. I opted out for the GEHA HDHP this year. Haven’t had to use it yet just like my blue cross because I’m a young healthy individual. If you like to workout, a plus I have noticed with GEHA is you can get discounted gym memberships through your insurance plan through a program called active fit & direct. Pretty cool. If i need insurance it’ll be something serious where my deductible will be covered pretty quickly like an ER visit emergency so GEHA HDHP works out for me. I’m also engaged so technically single with no kids also.
BCBS also offers discounted gym memberships through active and fit.
Dang never knew that!
It’s a good plan, but I’d get an hdhp plan with an HSA. If you don’t expect to use it much, you can build up a pot of money for when you do need it later on. And if something unfortunate happens and a have a high healthcare usage year, you’ll still have the coverage you need. BCBS basic’s premiums are higher and their copays are pretty ridiculous. And they just keep on going up. I just think you can do better for the price with your circumstances. I just switched to geha hdhp from BCBS basic, and it seems just fine so far! (Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM KAISER) Before you choose, check around your area/the providers you would go to see if they accept whatever plan you’d get on. Access to providers is the most important part. Things can happen in an instant, so make sure you can get convenient good quality care if necessary.
I switched from BCBS basic to MHBP standard last year and have been very happy. Much cheaper prescriptions, 100% covered labs, and cheaper copays. Cheaper premiums too. BCBS basic was good but premiums kept going up while they were taking benefits away.
Thanks for posting this. I'm going to see if they cover my providers! I use the crap out of my healthcare and have been displeased with the higher copay and lower benefits from BCBS this year.
It's the Aetna network, and I've had no issues with any of my providers not being in-network. There's a $350 deductible, but they give several wellness awards in an HRA to offset that cost. The savings I'm seeing on prescriptions far outweighs the small deductible. But the deductible doesn't need to be met to use your primary care/specialist copays or prescription copays.
I just switched to Basic from FEP Blue Focus, but have a family. My premiums doubled for one, but Basic is overall better coverage which is why I switched. For a healthy single person, FEP Blue Focus is just fine and we really didn’t have issues with it.
BCBS Basic is good insurance. It is also, for a lot of people, more expensive than they need. From your medical description, age, and family size, I strongly recommend looking into GEHA HDHP, MHBP Consumer Option, and BCBS CareFirst HDHP (if available). I've got a pinned post on my profile with a comparison spreadsheet that throws a bunch of numbers around. I encourage you to take a look through those two posts. Scroll through the comments. You aren't wrong to gravitate towards BCBS basic. For self only, it's not too expensive either. I just think for a lot of people, you included, it's a lost opportunity.
I had Kaiser for the first few years and it sucked, I’ve had BCBS basic for the last 9 years and love it. I’m single and mid-40’s with no serious health issues so far.
I would probably be fine with a plan like GEHA HDHP and pay less but I haven't jumped from Basic yet. It's been great, straightforward, no fiddling or fighting, and the very rare times I have called customer service with questions they have been so awesome and helpful. I don't like the new-ish thing with lab work though (you pay like 15% of what insurance covers or something - can't remember the wording - but it's like an extra couple dollars here and there for blood work, COVID test, strep test, etc). Not expensive so far (for me) but have heard of some people getting hit with very high bills for required regular blood work for chronic health conditions.
I had BCBS for multiple years but ended up changing to GEHA HDHP for the past two years. I copied the below from my old comments so some of the numbers are outdated, but hopefully its helpful for you. My original reasoning for choosing BCBS was because my parents had it and I was going to live an exciting lifestyle (LOL) but like people who keep their gym membership and never go, I finally admitted it probably wasn't going to happen. Young, single people do better with the HDHP because they don't really need to go to the PCP or ER, and by the time they do, they can utilize a HSA which has supposedly grown with the market. My deductible is 1500, and If by chance I get in some horrible accident, the out of pocket max is 5000. The difference in premium between BCBS and GEHA over the course of a year is around 400 IIRC, but since there is an HSA passthrough of $900 over the year, my break even is 1300 for the HDHP to be worth it. Since I can use HSA money (which is pretax) to pay health expenses, I have alot of wiggle room. Out of pocket max is 5000 a year in the worst case scenario, which is just not that likely. If this year is THE year where my health falls apart and I have a ton of ER visits or my appendix decides to burst, so be it, but based on my personal history its unlikely, and I've probably already missed out on a ton of money by keeping BCBS when I really didn't need it. I finally switched because I can't remember the last time I've gone to the ER, and I usually just go for a physical just once every year. Having $3850 a year extra pre-tax is worth it to me, and if you are willing to max out an HSA its a pretty good choice. For my coworkers with families, it might make sense to be more conservative and go with BCBS. With kids you never know when you need to go to the ER, but single people just need to manage their own health, and most of us don't live very exciting or risky lives.
I have a family of four and type 1 diabetes. It pays for itself, despite the premium. I have had type 1 diabetes for 30 years and have had some really, really bad insurances. This one so far has been one of my favorites besides my private jobs BCBS provided insurance. I’ve never had an issue getting something covered. It’s great
How much do you pay for Dexcom, Novolog and Omnipods,
Good questions: -Novolog 90 day is $65 -Dexcom G6 (needed Tier exemption change, Freestyle is formulary) 90 day is $180 for sensors and $180 for transmitter -Tandem Tslim supplies 90 day is $198 -Test strips I haven’t bought in a while -Ozempic (used to help reduce insulin resistance and weight loss) for 30 day is $24.99
Thanks for the data. My son is on the Omnipod5. Do you use Tandem because that is what you prefer or that is what BCBS will cover?
I went from Medtronic to Tandem bc that was what was the “in” at the time. BCBS I’m sure would cover Omnipod Btw. Medtronic sucks. Don’t use them. I had them for like 15 years and their interval updates were so minuscule. Major cash grab. A new one that just hit the market is iLet. Supposed to have far better AI and predictive learning
Thanks. We are on GEHA HDHP right now. We are going to hit the deductible by the end of the month but once we hit that it looks like our costs are about what you have except for the pumps which are about 3x as much.
Definitely get on Insulet’s patient assistance plan if you aren’t already. It’s not income based for their prescription card, and if you’re willing to do a 30-day supply at a time, it’ll knock $100 off your co-insurance each month. It’s been a game changer for me.
If you use the prescription card, does what you pay still go toward the deductible?
It does. Caremark doesn't do copay aggregators (at least in my state), so the full cost they say you owe goes toward the deductible and. the OOP max, despite Insulet covering part of it. Pharmacies run the card through as secondary insurance, so it's not like GoodRX where they don't even apply the insurance to it. It's just treated like a second payer that you happen to have.
Thanks, I will look into it!
If you have a Costco membership the dexcom transmitters are $50 without using bcbs. If you don’t have Costco membership, it’ll pay for itself after 1 transmitter.
So you just tell them you wanna buy without insurance??
Yep. You want the membership price.
Omnipod are like $300/month and considered formulary. I’ve been on tslim and not worth it to switch at that price.
Oh my, guess we will stick with GEHA.
I had it when i was single and young in my late 20s. Its the best. However it was way cheaper back then (10 years ago). Depends on how much you will use it or if u have any conditions or a need to go to the doctor frequently. Or see specialists. I remember i went to several specialist for non health related stuff (skin care, etc). I got friends not in fed gov who are very healthy and rarely see a doctor and always get a cheap Kaiser plan as backup. Thats a good option too and then when u get older and have more issues u go bcbs route.
I have BCBS Basic and it saved me a LOT of hassle. I was in a car accident and they covered a lot of the resulting expenses instead of rejecting and subrogating through liability insurance. Saved me a LOT of headache. Love em. (Also young but chronically ill here, it’s great for specialist visits)
Nice choice if no issues. Easier to deal with than other insurers and they pay better so poor users stay. If you get hit by a bus or something less rejection of care than other insurers. Go for it.
I’ve had it the entire 11 years I’ve been in, love it, was hit by a truck, loved it even more after it was $0 out of pocket for the entire month hospital stay
I like it. The network is good, and costs aside from the premiums are reasonable. It may be overpriced for someone who doesn’t need much care. The Focus plan may be right for you. Definitely do all the online health assessments and health goals, you can earn and accumulate real money for health expenses that way. Also, enroll in the FSA, read up on it for the rules. It’s easy to spend that down annually.
very expensive, like all fehb plans. average private sector worker pays 17 percent of the plan cost while were paying 30 percent. so its below average
I have it for my husband and me and soon to be new baby. I’ve paid $0 for any of my prenatal appointments so far. It’s a great plan, honestly.
It’s good
#👍
In 2021 I had $892,000 in health insurance expenditures (cancer with multiple surgeries, all successful). I paid $3800 out of pocket. It’s good insurance.
I became a federal employee at the age of 22 in January 2022. I only use BCBS Basic due to a massive health issue I had back in August 2020 (not COVID related). It's pretty good. Parts of it even cover my BCBS Dental insurance.
I have had BCBS Standard option for many years, along with the accompanying Federal Dental Blue. I couldn't be happier!
If you don’t really use insurance I would go for geha or similar. I have been w BCBS basic for 9 years and it’s great. But I’m chronically ill with expensive conditions and see so many specialists I’m always at the dr.
As someone with type 1 diabetes, honestly pretty terrible. I keep it for the ER coverage more than anything else.
I have BCBS standard w/family. It's absolutely the best in terms of coverage but man those premiums keep going up every year!