Independence Blue Cross is a health insurance provider situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Founded in 1938, the Independence Blue Cross is the largest health insurance provider in the Philadelphia area. It serves over 2 million people across the region and about 7 million nationwide. The company offers various health plans, managed care, and traditional indemnity insurance.
Capital Blue Cross has served Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley residents for over 80 years. Founded in 1937, the Capital Blue Cross headquarter is situated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. They offer health insurance products, services, and technology solutions to provide peace of mind to customers. Moreover, promote health and wellness for their members. Capital Blue Cross was awarded Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross offers a wide range of health insurance plans for the residents of Pennsylvania and some other parts of the nation. Their health insurance is designed to minimize the members’ medical expenses in times of emergency. IBC offers the following health insurance plans:
Individual and Family health plans
Independence Blue Cross offers health insurance plans designed to protect its members and their family from the high expenses of medical services. You pay a certain rate or premium to get discounts on doctor visits and hospital services.
You can choose the Affordable Care Act plan with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Catastrophic categories. Now, check the below chart for learn more about their package:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Catastrophic | |
| Monthly premium | $$$$ | $$$ | $$ | $ |
| Cost when you receive care | $ | $$ | $$$ | $$$$ |
| Good option if you… | Numerous health care services | Need to balance your monthly premium with your out-of-pocket costs | Don’t use a lot of health care services | Meet the requirements and need “just-in-case coverage” |
Besides these, Independence Blue Cross also offers five main types of plans –
- HMO
- PPO
- EPO
- HMO Proactive
- EPO Reserve
The following chart will help you understand the differences between the health plans:
| HMO | HMO Proactive | PPO | EPO | EPO Reserve with an HSA | |
| In-network coverage | X | X | X | X | X |
| Out-of-network coverage | X | ||||
| National access with the BlueCard® network | X | X | X | ||
| Requires selection of a primary care physician | X | X | |||
| No referrals are needed for specialists | X | X | X | ||
| Includes a tiered network so you can choose when to save on care | X |
Moreover, Independent Blue Cross offers the following plans for individuals and families –
- Health Savings Account (HAS)
- Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
- Low-Income plans
- Dental and Vision plans
- International Health plans
- LifeSecure plans
Employer health plans
Independence Blue Cross provides coverage for large and small group businesses nationwide. They offer medical, dental, vision, pharmacy benefits, Medicare Supplemental, and Medicare Advantage products.
Small Business
For small businesses, Independence Blue Cross offers the Blue Solutions® health plans. These plans are available at lower costs and provide high-quality services. The plans include –
- Personal Choice® PPO plans
- Personal Choice® EPO plans
- Keystone Direct POS plans
- Keystone HMO plans
- Keystone HMO Proactive plans
- High-deductible health plans (HDHPs)
- Pharmacy benefits
- Vision benefits
- Dental benefits
They also offer to spend accounts plans for small businesses with their BlueSaverSM plan. This includes:
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
Large Business
Independence Blue Cross offers the following plans for large business employers:
- Keystone HMO plans
- Keystone POS and Direct POS plans
- Personal Choice® PPO plans
- High-deductible health plans (HDHPs)
- Choice advantage plans
- Personal Choice PPO tiered network plans
- Group Medicare plans
Besides these, IBC also offers the following plans:
- Pharmacy benefits
- Dental benefits
- Vision benefits
- Stop loss
- Spending accounts (HSA, HRA, FSA)
- Labor benefits
- Educational institutions benefits
Medicare Plans
Independence Blue Cross offers Medicare plans to its members at an affordable cost. These plans include Medicare Advantage (with or without Part D) and Medicare Supplement plans.
Medicare Advantage
Independence Blue Cross offers the following affordable Medicare Advantage health plans:
- Personal Choice 65SM PPO
- Keystone 65 HMO plans
Medicare Supplement
IBC offers Medicare Supplement or Medigap plans in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. Their MedigapFreedom plans combine the benefits of Original Medicare and the features of a Fee-for-Service health plan.
Capital Blue Cross
Capital Blue Cross offers a wide array of health plans for its customers. These include health plans for individuals and families, employers, Medicare, children, etc.
Individual and Family plans
Capital Blue Cross offers health plans based on tiers for individuals and their families. These are:
Gold plans
- Gold Simple PPO 0/0/25
- Gold PPOP Choice 2000/0/30
- Gold Valley Advantage EPO 2150/10/20
- Gold PPO 2150/10/20
Silver plans
- Silver PPO Choice 3950/20/35
- Silver PPO Choice 4000/20/35
- Silver Valley Advantage EPO 5950/20/40
- Silver Valley Advantage EPO 6000/20/40
- Silver PPO 5950/20/40
- Silver PPO 6000/20/40
Bronze plans
- Bronze PPO Choice 7100/0/50
- Bronze Valley Advantage EPO 8000/0/50
- Bronze HMO 8000/0/75
Catastrophic plans
- Catastrophic PPO 8550/0/75
- Catastrophic HMO 8550/0/75
Moreover, Capital Blue Cross also offers dental and vision plans for their customers.
Medicare plans
Capital Blue Cross offers Medicare plans for people 65 years old and above. They provide both HMO and PPO plans at an affordable price range. These include –
- BlueJourney HMO
- BlueJourney HMO
Insurance for Kids
Capital Blue Cross offers affordable insurance plans for your children through their CHIP program. If your child is under the age of 19 and lawfully a resident of Pennsylvania, then they can qualify for the CHIP program. The income limits and eligibility is –
- free coverage if you earn up to $54,496
- low-cost coverage if you earn up to $68,644
- full-cost coverage if you earn more than $82,268
Employer plans
Capital Blue Cross offers plans for employers of both small and large-scale businesses. These plans include the following –
1-50 employees
CBC offers the following plans for employers of small businesses:
| PPO Choice PPO Choice HMO QHDP | Medicare Valley Advantage EPO COBRA Mini-COBRA |
51-99 employees
Capital Blue Cross offers the following plans for medium-sized businesses:
| PPO PPO Choice Performance PPO HRA QHDHP | Capital Advantage EPO Valley Advantage EPO Medicare COBRA Mini-COBRA |
100+ employees
Capital Blue Cross offers the following plans for large businesses:
| PPO PPO Choice Performance PPO HRA QHDHP | Medicare Capital Advantage EPO Valley Advantage EPO COBRA FSA |
Besides these plans, Capital Blue Cross also offers –
- Trip protection
- Coverage across the globe
- Hearing discounts
- Medicare supplement
- Extended medical coverage
Independence Blue Cross and Capital Blue Cross are operated by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association of the United States. They offer huge benefits at an affordable price with high-quality healthcare services. For more information about their plans, visit their website at www.capbluecross.com and www.ibx.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the subsidiaries and affiliates of Independence Blue Cross?
Independence Blue Cross offers specialized services and managed care through its subsidiaries and affiliates. These are –
- QCC Insurance Company
- Keystone Health Plan East
- Independence Administrators
- AmeriHealth
- AmeriHealth Administrators
- AmeriHealth Casualty
- AmeriHealth Caritas
- CompServices, Inc.
- NaviNet, Inc.
What counties does Capital Blue Cross cover?
Capital Blue Cross offers health care services in the following counties –
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