BOISE - An announcement today that could affect some of the more than 100,000 Idahoans who are without health care coverage.
Blue Cross of Idaho is introducing five new health insurance plans into the state's marketplace.
The goal is to give uninsured middle class Idahoans affordable options.
It's called Freedom Blue. The plans cover all of the essential health benefits. That includes access to prescription drug coverage, doctors, specialists, emergency services, urgent care and more.
The different price options are based on your health.
The healthier you are, the less your insurance will cost.
In some cases, that can be up to 50 percent less than current plans available under the Affordable Care Act.
“What we see in Idaho is a growing uninsured population particularly in the middle class, the ACA products have become unaffordable for them,” said Dave Jeppesen, Executive Vice President of Consumer Health Care. “What we're trying to do is create an option that instead of being a mortgage payment it’s about the same as a car payment."
This latest move from Blue Cross is in response to an executive order from the governor announced last month, meant to give Idahoans more choices for health insurance.
Dean Cameron, Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance, explains that the order gives them the authority to seek out and offer plans for Idahoans who can't currently afford coverage, even if those plans fall short of federal Affordable Care Act standards.
Blue Cross says people can buy any of these five plans year-round. You don't have that short enrollment period.
Blue Cross hopes to roll out these plan in early March, meaning coverage would start in April.