Anthem Blue Cross Health Insurance

Yes.  Insurance companies may look at smoking and drinking history when they decide whether to offer insurance. 

Yes. Insurance companies usually look at your height and weight when they decide to offer insurance. They may offer you insurance at a higher premium rate or refuse to insure you if you are overweight or obese. Some insurance companies use a measurement called the Body Mass Index (BMI) to decide. If your BMI is above 39, most insurance companies will not offer you insurance. If your BMI is 30-39, an insurance company may offer you insurance at a higher premium.

Insurance companies may offer you insurance at a higher premium and/or limit the products or benefits you can purchase if you had a health problem in the past but you have recovered or you have been without symptoms for some time.  Insurance companies will also do this for minor health problems that you had in the past or may currently have.  Insurance companies argue that these conditions pose a risk that it will cost more for your health claims than if you were completely healthy.  Each application and insurance company is different.  An insurance company may charge

Downgrading is easy to do within the same kind of plan such as Share 500 to the Share 1500. Upgrading is possible if you are in good health as it is subject to underwriting.

There are a few options for payment with either carrier.
Billing - Shield monthly, quarterly Blue Cross bi-monthly, quarterly
Credit Card Blue Cross allows monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly credit card deduction
Checking account auto-deduction monthly deduction.

No. The policy can be canceled or renewed (by payment) month to month.

Blue Cross has an online application which tends to process very quickly. Otherwise, you can fax your completed application and copy of check (or credit card section) to 800-569-1156 to start the process immediately. You would then mail the original if paying by check. The credit card option just requires the faxed copy.

There is no fee to apply. Only the initial month's premium is submitted with the application.

The first month's premium must be submitted with the application. This can be done with a check made out to the carrier or via credit card (for Blue Cross of California). If the application is not approved, this initial payment will be fully refunded.

There are two different scenarios. If the applicant is in good health and there isn't much the carrier wants to check into, we usually hear back in one to two weeks. If the volume of applications is running high in underwriting, the time frame can be longer. If the carrier wants further information on something listed in the application, they will request records directly from the doctor and this can delay the processing time. It usually adds another 2-4 weeks depending on how quickly the doctor responds back to the request.