New York Health Insurance Carriers
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Aetna— One of the leading health insurance providers in the US; They offer health insurance plans, dental plans, pharmacy, dental, life, disability and employee benefits plans. Their health insurance plans have over 18 million members across America and they have a wide network with more than 1 million health care professionals. Aetna members have access to over 5,400 hospitals. Aetna provides their members with various information that help them better understand health care and health insurance. | |
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Emblemhealth— EmblemHealth was established in 2006 when GHI (Group Health Incorporated) and HIP (Health Insurance Plan of New York) were acquired. Together they provide health insurance coverage to 4 million New Yorkers. EmblemHealth members have access to more than 92,000 providers. They offer health insurance products such as HMO plans, POS plans and PPO plans. Aside from the various health care products, they also provide disease management programs, customer care, claims processing, grievance and appeals resolution, Medicare enrollment processing, and telesales. | |
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Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield— Empire was established in 1934 as a hospital insurance provider in New York called Associated Hospital Service (AHS). In 1974 AHS and United Medical Service (UMS) merged and formed Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Greater New York which also merged with BCBS of Northeastern New York and formed Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in 1985.Today over 5 million New York residents trust Empire BCBS for health care coverage. They have 38,000 employees throughout the state. Empire BCBS also operates in New Jersey and Connecticut. Empire has a large PPO/EPO network of 84,000 health care providers and 5,000 in their HMO/Direct POS network.Empire is a subsidiary of Wellpoint, one of the largest health insurer across America. Empire started as a New York city health insurance provider that has grown to become one of the largest providers in the country today. What sets Empire apart from other providers is that they manage their own health care providers network locally, allowing them to customize the design of their health plans and offer affordable coverage. | |
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MVP (Mohawk Valley Physicians Health Plan)— MVP Health Care started in 1982 when physicians and community leaders of the Schenectady County Medical Foundation formed an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). They eventually extended to Saratoga, Central New York, the Southern Tier and the Hudson Valley doing business as Mohawk Valley Physicians Health Plan. In 1995, they changed their name to MVP Health Care since their operations went beyond Mohawk. The following year they expanded to Vermont and became the largest health plan in the state.MVP Health Care operates in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. They have over 750,000 members across these three states. MVP members experience regional excellence in health care while having access to a wide network of health care providers throughout the US.MVP offers a wide variety of plan options, funding solutions, financial tools and pharmacy coverage. They also offer Medicare Advantage Plans called Preferred Gold. It is considered as the number one Medicare Care Advantage Plan by the U.S. News and World Report and the NCQA. | |
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HIP Health Plan of New York— HIP now operates under Emblemhealth. Their network is strong with 22,000 health care providers.They have 1 million members in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. | |
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Independent Health— Independent Health is a health maintenance organization (HMO) that started in 1980. They are one of the first HMOs in Western New York. They started providing health insurance products to residents of Western New York but now they operate in 35 other states. Independent Health has grown to 365,000 members across the country.The plans they offer include HMO, PPO, indemnity, dental, vision and Medicare Advantage plans and Medicaid coverage. They also have various health care programs that promote health and wellness. They are headquartered in Buffalo, NY. | |
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Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP)— Capital District Physicians Health Plan was established as a not-for-profit health plan in 1984. Their mission is to not only provide health care, but to help patients pave their path towards a healthier lifestyle. They encourage this by providing free exercise classes and nutrition programs. Their goal is to boost members’ overall well-being provided by their health care. | |
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Oxford Health Plans— Oxford Health Plans is one of the products of United Healthcare. They operate primarily in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. They offer HMO plans, PPOs, EPOs, POS plans, Medicare plans and provide service as a third party administrator of employer-sponsored health insurance plans. | |
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Easy Choice— Formerly Atlantis Health Plans. Easy Choice was established to continue the good partnership that patients and health care providers share. Easy Choice Health Plan provide New York residents with affordable and quality health insurance plans. Incorporated Magazine has included them in the list of 500 fastest growing companies in America. | |
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Excellus BCBS— The Blue Cross Blue Shield association has a long history dating back to 1932. Excellus was established in 1996 when Blue Cross Blue Shield in Central New York and Blue Cross Blue Shield Rochester merged. In 1997 BlueCross BlueShield of Utica-Watertown joined Excellus. BlueCross BlueShield Plans of Central New York, the Rochester Area, and Utica-Watertown changed their names to Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in 2003.Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield offers health insurance products in upstate New York. They also provide long-term care plans across the US. They have 2 million members and at least 6,000 employees. Proof of their financial stability is their «A-minus» rating from A.M. Best and Standard & Poors. Excellus BCBS is headquartered in Rochester, NY. They also have four regional headquarters in Syracuse, Elmira, Rochester and Utica and offices in Watertown, Binghamton, Oneonta and Plattsburgh. Today they are the largest not for profit health plan in New York.They are guided by 3 core values:
Part of their effort in living up to their core values is through their Quality Improvement Program whose mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities they serve. This program aims to improve their delivery of health care through partnerships with various people involved in the health care community.
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GHI (Group Health Incorporated)— Group Health Incorporated started as a small cooperative in New York. GHI has grown to become the largest non profit health insurance provider in the state providing coverage to 2.1 million New York residents. They provide a wide range of health care products ranging from hospital, medical, dental, mental care, vision and prescription drug plans.Their mission is to provide quality and affordable health insurance coverage to New Yorkers. GHI has pioneered health care programs in New York and across the US. In New York they were the first health insurance carrier to be incorporated; first health insurance carrier to offer paid-in-full benefits regardless of patient income; first to cover in-hospital medical care; First to cover preventive medicine, such as annual physical exams and well-baby care; First to institute a voluntary second surgical consultation program to eliminate unnecessary surgery and upgrade surgical care; First independent voluntary health insurance carrier designated by the Social Security Administration to function as a Medicare Part B carrier. They were also the first health services corporation chosen as the single nationwide administrator for Coordination of Benefits for Medicare. | |
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Fidelis Care Health Insurance—Since 1993, Fidelis Care has been serving local New York residents with the health insurance they need.Their main focus is to give exceptional care while also encouraging healthy living. In 2012, Consumer Guides for Managed Care listed Fidelis Care’s Children’s Plus Plan as number one for its top-notch care and patient approval. By 2013, it met all the standards to be considered a Qualified Health Plan according to the Affordable Care Act standards. | |
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Health Republic Insurance of NY— As New York’s only CO-OP (a private member-governed health insurance group) this not-for-profit program has three main goals which include: decreasing healthcare costs, ensuring people can easily obtain health insurance, and encouraging people to vocalize their opinions on health care. They are one of the least expensive health insurance options on the market. | |
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Health Now dba Blue Shield of Northeastern NY— Health Now Blue Shield of Northeastern NY was established in 1936. Its main focus is to assist people by helping them live healthier lives, and enrich the health of the community. It does so by balancing affordable health benefits with excellent care and service. | |
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HealthNow—BlueCross BlueShield of Western, NY— Created in 1936, HealthNow—BlueCross BlueShield of Western, NY has a mission to help individuals and the community by creating efficient answers to health issues. They are constantly trying to better their service as well as establish relationships with hospitals and doctors to better the quality of care. | |
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Univera Health Insurance— Univera is a nonprofit health-care plan with 5,700 plus providers. Univera’s main goal is to give the community top-notch care at reasonable prices and to constantly better the health of the community over time. A.M. Best rated Univera’s financial strength as B++. | |
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Healthfirst Health Insurance New York— Established in 1993, Healthfirst Health Insurance was ranked as having the top health plan in NYC and LI by the Consumer Guide to Medical Managed Care in NY in 2013. It is a not-for-profit organization with a goal to provide coverage for people through low-cost or free government-run organization. In addition, Healthfirst’s customer service representatives can help customers over the phone in both English and Spanish. | |
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MetroPlus Health Plan New York— MetroPlus Health Plan, a subsidiary of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, was established in 1985. They provide health insurance for qualified residents who live in one of the five Boroughs in New York City. Their goal is to give superior service and encourage preventative care. They do this by partnering with Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC). MetroPlus Health can accommodate non-English speaking customers with support in 13 different languages-as well as those that are hearing impaired. | |
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Oscar Health Insurance Plan for New York— Although new to the health insurance game, Oscar Health Insurance has a clear goal in ensuring members are in charge of their pricing and care options. While launching as recently as 2013, Oscar health has 35,000 doctors in its network, and there are 72 hospitals participating in their plans. By going to their website, you can simply click on the green button and talk to a doctor within an hour, as the site promises. | |
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United Health Insurance for New York— Founded in 1974, United has grown into one of the leading insurance carriers, guaranteeing its members receive outstanding service and care. United’s mission is to enhance and better the health care system. | |
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Today’s Option [American’s Progressive] Health Insurance— Today’s Option is a health plan focusing on Medicare and is a family company with American Progressive. American Progressive was created in 1945, and its main focus is providing those over the age of 50 with the health insurance they need at an affordable cost while also giving superior service. In conjunction, Today’s Option also focuses on Medicare and their advantage plans. Their mission is to encourage people to change their lifestyle by staying active. They also push for people to be independent. You can receive care from Today’s Option PFFS in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. | |
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Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield Health Insurance— In 2003, the health insurance company BlueCross BlueShield of Central New York (the Rochester Area) combined with Utica-Watertown and took on the title: Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield. This upstate nonprofit health insurance company originally established in 1932, received a B++ in financial strength by A.M. Best and received an A-minus by Standard and Poor’s. It is the largest health insurance company in upstate New York with a primary goal to promote quick, quality care.They support preventive care, and help those with acute as well as chronic illnesses. |