HCSC Health Insurance Review

HCSC offers the following health insurance plans:

Employer plans: Employer-sponsored health plans are health insurance plans that you get through your employer. Your employer selects the health insurance plans and may give you a few options to choose from. Your employer may also pay for part or all of your health insurance costs if you use an employer-sponsored plan. If you have to pay for part of all of the health insurance costs, it will most likely come out of your paycheck.

Individual plans: If your employer doesn’t offer an employer-sponsored health plan or if you’d rather not get a health plan through your employer, you can opt for an individual plan. You purchase these plans on your own. If you purchase a policy through your state’s health exchange, you are most likely purchasing an individual health plan.

Family plans: Family plans work similarly to individual plans, but they cover more than one person. These plans can cover you, your spouse and children under the age of 26.

Medicaid: Medicaid plans are government-run health plans that are designed for low-income individuals and families. If you qualify for Medicaid, you’ll pay a low cost or nothing at all for your health coverage.

Medicare Advantage: Medicare Advantage plans are Medicare-approved health plans that can be used as an alternative to Original Medicare. These plans are offered by private companies such as HCSC and include Part A and Part B of Original Medicare. The benefits of HCSC Medicare Advantage plans can include prescription drug coverage (Part D), dental and vision benefits and lower out-of-pocket costs.

Medicare Supplement: Medicare Supplement plans can help fill the gaps in Original Medicare coverage. You can use one of these plans to help pay for some of your out-of-pocket health care costs, such as copayments, coinsurance and deductibles. Medicare Supplement plans might also be called Medigap plans.

Medicare Part D: Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage that can supplement Original Medicare plans. Like Medicare Advantage plans, these plans are offered by private companies such as HCSC. 

HCSC has a few different customer service phone numbers for its customers. There is a dedicated phone line for anyone with general inquiries. Then there are phone numbers as well as addresses provided for each of the states that HCSC services — Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index for HCSC, it seems that the customer service provided by the company is very well received. The NAIC Complaint Index measures the number of complaints received about an insurance provider against the median complaint ratio of 1.00. HCSC’s NAIC Complaint Index is 0.11, which is far below the median.  

To evaluate the health insurance cost of a plan from HCSC, Benzinga obtained a quote for an individual plan for a 35-year-old female living in Chicago, Illinois. The person we got a quote for is a non-smoker and has an annual household income of $50,000.

The plan that matched best was an HMO plan called Blue FocusCare Bronze 209 with a monthly premium of $262.26.

Here’s a snapshot of that plan:

The maximum annual out-of-pocket cost is the most that you’ll have to pay for your covered expenses within the plan year. Any money that you pay toward your deductible is included in the out-of-pocket costs, and so is any coinsurance or copayments that you make. 

Some things don’t count toward your out-of-pocket costs, though. These costs include your monthly payment, out-of-network services or care and anything you spend on services that your plan doesn’t cover.

After you’ve spent the maximum annual out-of-pocket cost, your health plan will cover 100% of the costs of your covered services.

Your deductible is the amount that you’ll pay for your covered healthcare services before your insurance plan will cover the costs. Your health plan may cover the cost of some services before you’ve met your deductible, such as an annual preventative visit. Other than that, you will have to pay the full cost of your covered services out of pocket until you’ve spent enough on your services to reach your deductible. 

After you’ve met your deductible, your health plan will probably have a coinsurance or copayment attached to your covered services. This is the amount that you’ll still have to pay for services, and your health insurance plan will pick up the rest. For example, if you visit a specialist’s office and the bill is $120 with a copay of $20, you’ll pay $20 and your health insurance provider will pay $100. You’ll continue to cover coinsurance or copayment costs until you’ve reached your out of pocket maximum for the year.

Based on the quotes that we received, HCSC plans seem to be average. However, one of the other quotes that we received was a better deal because it had a $0 deductible with a monthly payment of $311.80.

Applying for an HCSC health insurance plan isn’t as straightforward as it could be. The best way to do it is to search your state’s health insurance marketplace or use a third-party quote tool to get quotes from multiple providers. If you live in a state that HCSC serves, you will probably see at least one HCSC plan show up. 

Once you’ve reviewed all of your plan options, you can select the HCSC plan that you’d like to enroll in from the website that you’re using. You may also be able to call the customer service line for your state to enroll in a health insurance plan.

HCSC vs. Competitors

HCSC plans offer flexible coverage and a wide network of participating providers. If the insurance provider is available in your state, you should compare HCSC plans against other competitors in your area. Here are some of the top competitors that you may want to compare HCSC with.

Since HCSC is only available in a few select states, it may not even be an option where you live. If the health insurance provider does offer plans in your area, they’re worth considering. However, when compared to some of its competitors, HCSC’s plans don’t always offer the best deal, and you may be able to find a lower deductible plan elsewhere.

HCSC does offer quite a few different types of plans, including Medicaid and Medicare options. You can also find both HMO and PPO plans from this provider. The company has good customer service and financial strength ratings, making it a reliable option if it’s available to you. However, its customer service options only include phone support, which can make it difficult to find answers when you need them.

Frequently Asked Questions