For young adults living in rural Michigan, accessing affordable health insurance may be an issue. Options on the individual insurance marketplace for young adults in rural Michigan are fewer than the options people in more urban areas have. And for young, generally healthy adults, there aren’t as many choices on the marketplace for a low-price plan that offers the preventative services and telemedicine they need. Now there’s a new option from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network on the individual insurance marketplace that seeks to expand access to care. Blue Cross and Blue Care Network are launching a new plan – the Preferred Value plan – in 63 rural Michigan counties for adults under 30 years old who are ineligible for a tax credit on the individual Health Insurance Marketplace. Why young adults? Because younger adults, being generally healthier, sometimes see the cost of health insurance as something they would rather not pay, given that they use medical care less frequently. Blue Cross’s Preferred Value plan breaks down this barrier to coverage by offering low- or no-cost health care services to young adults:
- Blue Cross Online Visits, where board certified doctors are available around the clock through a mobile app
- Primary care visits, so young adults can afford annual checkups
- Retail health and urgent care visits, including clinics in pharmacies and grocery stores, where young adults can get quick services for unforeseen, non-emergency issues
- Mental health visits
- Certain laboratory services
There are more than 170,000 members enrolled in individual plans with Blue Cross and Blue Care Network on the individual marketplace, and 57% percent receive subsidies. All individual plans include:
- Free annual visits
- Free wellness appointments
- Free vaccines
- No-cost Blue Cross Online Visits
- No-cost diabetes management tools
Blue Cross and Blue Care Network are continuing efforts to keep plans on the individual market affordable, by proposing moderate rate adjustments on existing plans for the 2022 open enrollment period. On average, Blue Cross PPO and Blue Care Network HMO plans will see rate increases of five and six percent, respectively, pending approval of state regulators. Photo credit: Getty Images
