Hospital Choice Cost Sharing Launch Kit

Follow-up email #1

<subject> Two levels of coverage. Always your choice.

<body>The health plan we are offering this year covers care at hospitals in a new way. This new coverage, called Hospital Choice Cost Sharing, groups the hospitals in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ network into two levels.

What you pay for care depends on where you decide to get care. All the hospitals that are part of your network have met Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts standards for quality:

  • Lower Cost Share ($) hospitals charge less for care and you pay less when you get care at these hospitals.
  • Higher Cost Share ($$) hospitals charge more for care and you pay more when you get care at these hospitals.

These new benefits are part of our effort to keep the costs of health insurance affordable to you and your family. They reward you for selecting hospitalsthat are effective at controlling costs and delivering care.

To get started, it’s important that you take the time to understand how this plan works.Knowthecost share level of the hospital you use so you know if you need to switch providers to save money.

We have included a copy of the benefit summary that outlines your share of the costs and a hospital list that shows the cost share level of the hospitals. We urge you to use the self-assessment form that is included with the hospital list to review the providers you use.

Learn more about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ Hospital Choice Cost Sharing benefits now at

This health plan option includes a tiered network feature called Hospital Choice Cost Sharing. As a member in this plan, you will pay different levels of cost share* (such as copayments and/or coinsurance) for certain services depending on the network* general hospital you choose to furnish those covered services. For most network* general hospitals, you will pay the lowest cost sharing level*. However, if you receive certain covered services from some network* general hospitals, you pay the highest cost sharing level*. A network* general hospital's cost sharing level may change from time to time. Overall changes to add another network* general hospital to the highest cost sharing level will happen no more than once each calendar year. For help in finding a network* general hospital for which you pay the lowest cost sharing level, check the most current provider directory for your health plan option or visit the online provider search tool at Then click on the Planning Guide link on the left navigation to download a printable network hospital list or to access the provider search page.

* - For the PPO plan designs, the different levels of cost sharing apply to in-network benefit levels at preferred general hospitals.