Blue Cross or a UnitedHealthcare-Network Private Plan, State by State

The seven Anthem states, biggest gap first

Monthly premiums, one person, non-tobacco. Blue: the cheapest Bronze plan anywhere in the state. Private: the low end of the estimate on this site, the main plan, which has no deductible, averaged for men and women and before health questions. Not an offer. *Colorado: no deductible for day-to-day care.

What the lower price trades

• Health questions. The Blue plan takes everyone at the same price for their age; the private plan prices your health and can exclude a condition you already have.
• A yearly cap. The Blue plan stops your costs at its out-of-pocket maximum; the private plan pays set amounts, with no cap on what is left.
• Maternity. Covered on every Blue plan, left out on most private plans.
• When it starts. A Blue plan waits for Open Enrollment or a life event; a private plan can start any month.

The full side-by-side, row by row, is on CoverageByCounty: Blue Cross Blue Shield or a private plan on the UnitedHealthcare network. City by city, for Columbus, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and more: PlansByCity. A licensed agent here sells both, and recommends the Blue plan only when it is really needed.

• Free to you

  The insurance company pays the agent, never you, and the premium is the same either way.

• Licensed in 23 states

  One licensed agent, NPN #22052447, who sells marketplace and private plans, so you hear about both.

• One step to start

  Your ZIP code is the only thing needed to see what is available where you live.

Common questions

Where does switching from Blue Cross to a private plan save the most?

Among the seven states whose 2027 Blue prices are out, Ohio: Anthem’s cheapest off-exchange Bronze plan costs $488 a month at 40 and a private plan with no deductible starts at about $245, a gap of about $2,920 a year. The gap is smallest in Colorado, about $1,089 a year.

Do the private plans use the UnitedHealthcare network in every state?

In 21 of the 23 states served here. In Illinois and South Dakota the private plan uses the PHCS network instead. UnitedHealthcare is the network in either case, not the insurer: the plans are underwritten by Freedom Life Insurance Company of America.

Is there one Blue Cross Blue Shield company for every state?

No. Each state has its own Blue company, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Anthem sells in seven of the states served here, and no Blue company sells individual ACA plans in Mississippi.

Should a healthy person keep a Blue plan?

Only when it is really needed: an ongoing condition, a pregnancy, or an income under the tax-credit line ($63,840 a year for one person for 2027 coverage), where the same plan on the marketplace costs less. Otherwise the private plan usually costs far less, though it asks health questions and pays set amounts.

Sources

• Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Off-Marketplace plan quotes for every 2027 rating area in Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin, October 24, 2026, on the federal age curve.
• Private plan estimates: the same rate table as the ZIP check on this site, averaged for men and women. PremierAdvantage and HealthAccess III brochures (Freedom Life Insurance Company of America): fixed benefits paid in or out of network, no calendar-year deductible.
• CMS plan landscape file, 2026, and the state exchanges’ 2026 insurer lists: the Blue company in each state.

General information, not a quote or an offer of coverage. Private plans are medically underwritten: they ask health questions, can decline or exclude a condition, are not ACA coverage and get no tax credit. Daniel Griffin, licensed independent agent, NPN #22052447, is not tied to any single carrier and not affiliated with the U.S. government.