Best Cheap Health Insurance in Arizona – [2021]

Arizona has some of the most affordable health insurance rates in the country. Arizona’s current average monthly cost for a bronze plan is $216. A silver plan averages at $282, while gold plans are on average about $409 per month. These prices are all lower than the national median cost by nearly 20%. If you’re looking for high-quality but low-cost health insurance, there’s no better place to start your search than right here in Arizona!

Cheapest health insurance coverage by metal tier for a single person:

$60 a month for catastrophic coverage: $5000 deductible and $15 copay for office visits and generic prescriptions

Cheapest health insurance coverage by metal tier for a family of 4:

Gold plan with Health Savings Account. This works out to about $500 per person or $2000 for the family, or about 40% of the actual cost.

$2000 deductible for hospital visits and office visits, $10k out of pocket expenses, co-insurance 80/20, copays 10/40/50% depending on the service provider

Cheapest health insurance coverage by metal tier for a family of 2 adults and 4 children:

A gold plan without Health Savings Account. This works out to about $700 per person or $2800 for the family, or about 40% of the actual cost.

$2000 deductible for hospital visits and office visits, $10k out of pocket expenses, co-insurance 80/20, copays 10/40/50% depending on the service provider

The cheapest health insurance coverage by metal tier for a family of 2 adults and 4 children is identical to the coverage required under Obamacare.

However, note what happens when you add an extra adult or child, or if either one gets sick. The average healthy person would be better off just paying out-of-pocket because that’s cheaper than buying insurance, but the moment someone gets sick, Obamacare makes it cheap to buy insurance again.

Finding your best health insurance coverage in Arizona

Health insurance coverage is very important for staying healthy. It’s especially important if you have a chronic illness that requires ongoing medical treatment. A lot of different things influence the type of health insurance policies available in Arizona, but it’s always best to work with an independent broker who can find the best health insurance policy at the right price. Your local independent health insurance agent can also help you enroll in a policy.

Arizona is one of the states that opted to not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which means many people are without coverage. This includes adults who aren’t currently covered under their parents’ health insurance plans but didn’t meet Arizona’s requirements for Medicaid coverage. You may be able to enroll without a penalty through the end of the year if you visit your agent or broker and sign up for coverage before December 15.

Health insurance rate changes in Arizona and Connecticut:

No medical underwriting, guaranteed issue effective January 1st, 2014

Arizona’s BC/BS of Arizona and Celtic Insurance companies will continue to offer health insurance without medical underwriting to adults age 35 or younger next year. (This was previously announced by Aetna and Humana as well.) Also, starting in January you will be able to purchase guaranteed issue (no medical underwriting) health insurance during an open enrollment period even if you’re already sick. Not all carriers and plans will offer guaranteed issue policies though, so it pays to shop around for the best deal.

More about Celtic Insurance Company:

Celtic Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Health Care Services Corporation (HCSC), a not-for-profit mutual company which is the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana Health CO-OP, Oxford Health Plans of New Jersey, Celtic Insurance Company in Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma.

Medium – small group coverage will be guaranteed issue effective January 1st, 2014:

Starting January 1, 2014, there will be no medical underwriting for all plans in the individual and small group market. This includes Celtic Insurance Company’s (AZ) “All You Need” plan (read more about that here). There are still some carriers like Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) which will require medical underwriting for their products.

From Celtic Insurance Company’s website: “All You Need Individual is a guaranteed issue product that provides comprehensive major medical coverage with no pre-existing condition limitations.”

Premiums have been coming down significantly in the individual market, so these changes will most likely cause even more of a decrease across all carriers/plans.

On the fee schedule page, you can see that there’s a $250 deductible before coverage kicks in, and after the deductible is met the PPO network pays 100% of covered services for office visits up to $75 per visit. There are no office visit co-pays after the annual deductible has been met. Note that for “select benefit plans” (platinum and gold) there’s a $75 office visit copay. The copay for in-network prescription drugs is $20 – $50. The out-of-pocket maximum is $5,000 – $6,250 depending on the plan you choose.

Short-term health insurance in Arizona under Obamacare

Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law in 2010 by President Barack Obama. The ACA has been controversial since its inception. There are numerous pieces of legislation that are currently working their way through Congress to repeal or replace portions of this law. One of the most significant changes under the ACA is how it handles health insurance. Prior to the ACA, most people with a pre-existing condition could not purchase an individual plan from a private insurance company.

As a result, many of these people ended up without any coverage at all. However, under Obamacare, insurers are required to accept everyone regardless of their medical history or previous conditions and must offer them a standardized plan. This means that the premiums, deductibles, and co-pays for everyone under Obamacare are generally higher than before.

Because of this, President Trump has proposed making it much easier to obtain short-term health insurance in Arizona. Short-term health insurance plans come with several advantages over ACA plans including lower monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs. If you qualify for a short-term plan, it’s very likely that your total monthly premiums will be lower than what you pay for an Obamacare plan.

However, it’s important to understand that short-term health insurance does not cover all of the benefits made available under the ACA. Short-term plans are only intended to provide temporary coverage, so they are not designed to cover pre-existing conditions.

They also have limits on how much they will pay out per year or lifetime, so you could be responsible for any claims that you make past the dollar limits of your plan. Another drawback is that ACA plans are required by law to accept applicants regardless of their medical history, but short-term plans can turn away applicants who have a medical history that they deem too risky.

So if you’re considering going without health insurance, a short-term plan might be a good option for you. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons to help you decide which approach is best for your situation.

The average cost of health insurance by family size in Arizona

Here are the average costs for health insurance premiums in Arizona by family size. Learn more about the factors that impact your rates, and find out how to optimize these relationships so you can get the most affordable rates on the market today!

Arizona has a federally administered state-based marketplace known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, also referred to as the “AHCCCS” or simply “AZ”. The average cost of health insurance by family size in Arizona is somewhat lower than the national average. Even so, it is important to take a closer look at what impacts the cost of health insurance, as well as what you can do to get the most affordable rates on the market today.

Conclusion

Our goal is to help you find the best health insurance coverage for your needs and budget. We’ve provided information on Arizona healthcare reform as well as what short-term health insurance in Arizona under Obamacare might look like so that you can make an informed decision about your next steps towards finding affordable medical care. If you need more specific info, we have a list of qualified agents who are ready and waiting to answer any questions or concerns that arise during this process. Let us know if we can be of assistance!