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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas Reviews Plans On Health Insurance Marketplace

BlueCross BlueShield of Texas
Dan McCoy, M.D., is vice president and chief medical officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Texas.

The traffic jam of people checking out health insurance options online hasn’t completely let up. But here’s what North Texans will find once they make it past the login page: 40 plus plans to choose from. A handful are from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas — the largest provider of health benefits in the state.

Dan McCoy, M.D., is vice president and chief medical officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Texas.
Credit BlueCross BlueShield of Texas

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  How many products does Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas offer on the Marketplace?

BCBSTX offers two plan choices at each of the three levels — Bronze, Silver and Gold.  They do not offer Platinum plans on the exchange, only off exchange.  All plans will have similar benefits, and all include essential health benefits.

[More From KERA News: Obamacare 101: Essential Health Benefits]

What’s the difference between the bronze, silver and gold plans? 

  • Bronze level products will have the lowest monthly premium, but may also have the highest out-of-pocket costs.
  • Silver level products have a slightly higher monthly premium than bronze, but have richer benefits.
  • Gold level products have an even higher level of benefits than silver, but also a higher monthly premium.

[More From KERA News:Dallas Health Care Fair Set For Oct. 26]

Lauren Silverman was the Health, Science & Technology reporter/blogger at KERA News. She was also the primary backup host for KERA’s Think and the statewide newsmagazine  Texas Standard. In 2016, Lauren was recognized as Texas Health Journalist of the Year by the Texas Medical Association. She was part of the Peabody Award-winning team that covered Ebola for NPR in 2014. She also hosted "Surviving Ebola," a special that won Best Long Documentary honors from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). And she's won a number of regional awards, including an honorable mention for Edward R. Murrow award (for her project “The Broken Hip”), as well as the Texas Veterans Commission’s Excellence in Media Awards in the radio category.