Top 5 Health Insurance Companies in Arizona – Complete Guide

Purchasing a health insurance policy for yourself and your family is crucial, especially considering the escalating inflation and the soaring costs of medical care, particularly within the private sector. If you reside in Arizona and are in the market for health insurance, it’s essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the available plans offered by health insurance companies in the state.

Deteriorating health and medical expenses can burn a hole in your pocket and derail anyone’s finances. The affected person and his family will feel overburdened with emotional and financial stresses. The battle between disease and money crisis can get overwhelming and the only solution to these problems is health insurance.

So how does health insurance work? The policyholder pays a small annual premium which ultimately pays off and lessens the stress in medical emergencies. For families and spouses, it is advisable that they must look up health insurance quotes both together and separately to find the most affordable plan.

Depending on the health insurance company, Arizona individual and family health insurance rates for couples can be based on the age of the youngest person on the policy and other factors. The number of medical expenses you want to be covered affects Arizona’s health insurance cost. Health insurance is available through three leading platforms in Arizona employer-provided insurance plans, individual or family plans, and government-assisted plans.

To answer all your questions and concerns, this article will tackle all the salient features and aspects of health insurance in detail. Further, information regarding legal and financial intricacies is also involved, so continue reading to enhance your knowledge. To abreast yourself with health insurance details, read this piece of information to list down the top 5 health insurance companies in Arizona.

Defining health insurance

According to the Health Insurance Association of America, health insurance covers expenses resulting from sickness or injury, including medical, surgical, prescription drug, and dental costs. It serves as a financial safety net for individuals, reimbursing them for incurred medical expenses. Often included in employer benefit packages to attract top talent, health insurance premiums are tax-deductible for the payer, while benefits received remain tax-exempt.

Exploring health insurance reveals diverse options. Managed care plans require policyholders to seek care from a network of designated healthcare providers for optimal coverage. Seeking care outside the network typically incurs higher costs, sometimes leading to denied payments by the insurance company.

Coverage denial may also occur for services without preauthorization or for brand-name drugs when generics are available. Prospective policyholders should thoroughly review insurance materials for such rules and consult with employers or the provider beforehand.

Modern health insurance plans often include co-pays for services like doctor visits and prescriptions, deductibles that must be met before coverage kicks in, and coinsurance, wherein the insured must cover a percentage of healthcare costs even after meeting the deductible.

Plans with higher out-of-pocket expenses generally feature lower monthly premiums, prompting individuals to weigh the benefits against potential financial risks in case of significant illness or accidents.

In addition to health insurance, individuals with qualifying conditions can benefit from supplemental products like disability, critical illness, and long-term care insurance. These products provide additional financial protection in times of need.

Arizona health insurance

Arizona residents can buy cheap health insurance plans through the state marketplace, or low-income households may be eligible for coverage through Arizona’s Medicaid expansion. To help you find the best health insurance plan for your family, we evaluated all policies on the state exchange to find those with the lowest premiums.

Health insurance plans on the Arizona exchange are divided into metal tiers, which indicate the benefits you would receive from a policy and its out-of-pocket costs and premiums. To help you find a cheap health insurance plan for yourself, we compared all those listed on the Arizona marketplace and identified the most affordable policies in each metal tier. Let’s have an overview of top picks for cheap health insurance in Arizona.

Best health insurance companies

Oscar

Oscar Insurance offers a range of HMO health plans in Arizona. Plans from Oscar are some of the cheapest in Arizona. Depending on your coverage needs, they offer plans in several tiers to get the mYousurance. The company provides a doctor on call at no extra charge, which allows you to make a call in the Oscar mobile app and speak to a board-certified doctor anytime, anywhere

Blue cross blue shield of Arizona

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) is committed to helping Arizonans get healthier faster and stay healthier longer. With a focus on connecting people with the care they need, BCBSAZ offers health insurance and related services to more than 1.7 million customers. BCBSAZ, a not-for-profit company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The company, and its subsidiaries, employ more than 2,400 people in Phoenix, Chandler, Flagstaff, and Tucson.

BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona provides consumers with three main plans. It’s important to note that your location, age, gender, medical history, and other factors influence your payment options. Here are the 3 plans you can choose from.

Everyday health

It is great for patients who expect frequent visits to the doctor and take generic drugs. There are different deductibles that you can choose from and predictable costs. You will receive primary care, doctor visit co-payments, prescription drug copayments, and low deductibles.

True health plan

It better fits people with health conditions to manage healthcare costs effectively. There are fixed copayment amounts for specialist visits, free visits for PCP, and payments for specific brand-name drugs. Deductibles are higher, but there are also more benefits that you can take advantage of.

Cigna

Cigna has 3 metal-tier levels for their Arizona health insurance plans: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Their Bronze plan is better for people who want low premiums and don’t go to the doctor that often. While out-of-pocket costs can be high, the low premiums make up for it. The Silver plan is right for families or individuals who frequently go to the doctor for accidents or illnesses. The premium costs are medium level, and so are out-of-pocket costs.

Lastly, the Gold plan is perfect for people who visit the doctor regularly and have multiple prescriptions for drugs. While premiums are high under this plan, there are low out-of-pocket costs to deal with. The company offers several cheap health insurance plans in Arizona. In addition to a large provider network, Cigna gives members access to several mobile apps. These apps help make it easier to manage your account and make healthy choices.

Ambetter from Arizona complete health

Ambetter plans from Arizona Complete Health give you a handful of plan options for cheap health insurance. The company also offers plenty of additional benefits if you enroll in an Ambetter plan. The My Health Pays rewards program allows you to earn cash for future purchases or services by making healthy choices. Your rewards can be redeemed for doctor’s visit copays, put toward your deductible, and even used to pay your monthly utility bills

Bright health

If you live in Phoenix, you can take advantage of Bright Health insurance plans. The plans are cheap and give you access to Bright Health Rewards. This rewards program gives you cashback for healthy choices.

When you enroll in a Bright Health plan, you’ll get a debit card that is loaded with your cash rewards. Anyone on your Bright Health plans, such as a spouse or children, can earn rewards for the family.

Health insurance rate changes in Arizona

In Arizona, health insurance premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums are determined yearly by the health providers. The changes are then approved by state and federal regulators.

In 2022, most health insurance premiums increased on the Arizona health insurance exchange. The largest increase was seen in Bronze tier plans, which grew by 30%. Meanwhile, average Catastrophic plan premiums decreased by 31%. Premiums are for a 40-year-old adult.

Short-term health insurance in Arizona

Short-term health insurance is available for purchase in Arizona. Federal regulations allow short-term health insurance to last up to 12 months or 364 days per term, with renewals up to a total duration of three years. Arizona follows federal regulations with respect to short-term health insurance term limits.

Most short-term plans do not cover the essential benefits, including maternity, mental health and prescription drug coverage. For this reason, they are not qualified Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans and are not offered on the state marketplace. It can be useful to consider short-term health insurance if you are looking for a more affordable option for health coverage or missed open enrollment.

Health net of Arizona

Health Net of Arizona has different health insurance plans designed for specific groups of people. Here is an overview of their plans:

Medi-Cal offers no-cost or low-cost dental and medical services for individuals and families. You have to qualify for the plan based on your income, but it can be an excellent plan for people who can’t afford to pay high premiums.

Medicare has partnered with Health Net of Arizona to bring consumers subsidized plans, but they are designed only for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Family and individual plans are private plans that you can purchase according to your needs. They have different levels of premiums, deductibles, benefits, and out-of-pocket expenses.

Small business health insurance plans have PPO, and HMO plans that you can take to give your employees health benefits.

Large employer health plans are for large groups of people who can benefit from a shared plan under their employer.

Health insurance rate changes in Arizona

In Arizona, health insurance premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums are determined yearly by the health providers. State and federal regulators then approve the changes. In 2022, most health insurance premiums increased on the Arizona health insurance exchange. The most significant increase was seen in Bronze tier plans, which grew by 30%. Meanwhile, average Catastrophic plan premiums decreased by 31%.

Free health insurance in Arizona

Arizona follows federal law, the Affordable Care Act, in requiring residents to have a minimum level of health insurance coverage. A number of Arizona people may find the health insurance marketplace convenient for purchasing affordable insurance. In some special cases, the Affordable Care Act may provide free health insurance to the residents of Arizona. Many Arizona residents qualify for financial assistance to get private medical insurance under Obamacare. You could even get free or low-cost health insurance in Arizona through public programs like Medicaid.

Average cost of health insurance by family size in Arizona

The cost of a health insurance plan in Arizona will vary depending on the size of your family, in addition to your age and the policy you choose. For example, the average price of a Silver health insurance plan in Arizona would be $690 more for a family of five than it would for a family of three.

Health insurance premiums are determined for each adult based upon their age, while children below the age of 15 are priced at a flat rate. So, if you add your 40-year-old spouse to your health insurance plan, your premium would increase by an average of $577 per month in Arizona. But the cost of an average Silver health plan would only increase by $345 per child added to the policy.

Family size:

• Individual + child , Average cost : $922
• Couple, age 40, Average cost : $1,154
• Family of three (adult couple and a child), Average cost : $1,499
• Family of four (adult couple and two children) , Average cost : $1,844
• Family of five (adult couple and three children), Average cost : $2,189

Adults are assumed to be 40 years old. Children are assumed to be 14 or younger. Sample rates are based on the average cost for a Silver plan in Arizona.

Arizona health insurance facts

1. Arizonans paid an average premium of $219 a month for an ACA plan after federal subsidies.
2. 155,000 signed up for an ACA plan in 2021.
3. 4 million enrolled in Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage in 2020.
4. Six companies offer individual and family plans on the health insurance marketplace.

Due to the high cost of health insurance, a number of people with low income do not get health insurance. But like most states, Arizona experienced a rise in the number of insured residents with the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also called Obamacare. Back in 2013 when the first open enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace began, Arizona had 1.1 million uninsured residents. By 2016, that number dropped to 681,000–resulting in a 39.1 percent decrease in Arizona’s uninsured population.

Arizona’s uninsured population is now at 11 percent (as of 2019), which is slightly higher than the U.S. average of 9 percent.2

Another way the ACA has helped Arizona residents is through Medicaid expansion. In 2014, Arizona accepted federal funding to expand its Medicaid program to people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Because of the expansion, 432,100 more adults have access to low-cost or free health insurance through the state’s Medicaid program known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS).

Over the years, a gradual increase has been noticed in the prices and costs of health insurance, in particular, after the world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Inflation has emerged as a new war forefront after battling COVID19. The health insurance contributions have also risen from April 2022. The increase has been made to fund a health and social care levy. Everyone including the employees, employers, the self-employed, and pensioners will be hit by higher medical bills.

Why are there still 800,000 people uninsured in Arizona?

Despite Arizona’s strong economic growth, Arizona ranks among the worst states for the number of adults and children with health insurance. The statistics don’t demonstrate the adverse effects of going without health coverage. Uninsured people are more likely to forgo necessary medical services, are at higher risk for preventable hospitalizations, are less likely to receive follow-up care, and experience significantly higher mortality rates than the insured.

But it’s not just the individuals without insurance who are affected. Many of them end up in the ER for concerns that could be addressed by a family doctor, draining valuable resources from hospitals already overwhelmed by staff shortages and supply chain problems. Everyone’s care suffers as a result and these costs ultimately get passed to others through higher premiums and higher taxes.

To help resolve some of these issues, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which created Health Exchanges like the one used by Arizonans at healthcare.gov. The ACA was designed to expand access to affordable coverage for people who qualify, including those without coverage from an employer. It also extended subsidies or premium discounts to many Americans and expanded Medicaid eligibility in some states. Over the past decade, these efforts have reduced the number of uninsured Americans by 50%.

Many traditionally underserved groups have high uninsured rates, including Hispanic, Black and low-income individuals. This is noteworthy since more than 60% of uninsured Arizonans are Hispanic. This population is less likely than others to receive coverage via an employer, despite being in the workforce at higher rates than non-Hispanic individuals.

Summarizing the best Arizona health insurance

• Best for no-cost virtual and preventive care – Oscar
• Best for nationwide coverage – BCS of arizona
• Best pharmacy programs – Cigna
• Best for affordable health insurance plans with generous benefits – Ambetter
• Best for affordable plans, some with no deductible – bright health

Why do people buy health insurance?

Surprisingly, Health insurance in the USA is quite expensive and complex. Many people in the United States are not covered by health insurance due to high deductibles with limited benefits plans. However, it is a basic need now, and people are desperately seeking where to find low-cost health insurance.

It is pretty overwhelming to figure out the right health insurance at a low cost. If you spend time searching for affordable health insurance, you will know hundreds of companies out there to choose from. Such massive choices make it challenging to make informed decisions about low-cost insurance. However, health insurance is not free and is rarely low-cost, but specific strategies and plans for reduced costs are available.

Having health insurance has many benefits. It protects you and your family from financial losses in the same way that home or car insurance does. Even if you are in good health, you never know when you might have an accident or get sick. A trip to the hospital can be much more costly than you might expect. Consider these facts:

The average cost of a trip to the emergency room for an adult is about $700, not including any tests or hospitalization, which may increase the bill to well over $1,000.1

• A broken leg can cost up to $7,500.
• Average costs for childbirth are up to $8,800 and well over $10,000 for C-section delivery.1,2
• The total cost of a hip replacement can run a whopping $32,000.

These examples sound scary, but the good news is that, with the right plan, you can protect yourself from most of these and other types of medical bills.

Conclusion

Health insurance stands as a crucial shield in navigating the uncertainties of life, particularly in managing risks. It becomes indispensable in times of unexpected accidents when footing medical bills seems daunting. Recent data reveals that in Arizona, the average individual health insurance cost amounts to $6,215, with a family of four bearing a total of $24,860. Remarkably, this figure falls $766 below the national average for similar coverage. Notably, the variability in health insurance costs correlates with the prevailing costs of healthcare and the demographic characteristics of the insured population.