Options Blue HSA
About Options Blue HSA
Give your employees a health plan with tax advantages and the ownership of a health savings account.
Options Blue is an innovative way to help you manage costs and the health of your employees. It’s a high-deductible health plan coupled with a health savings account (HSA) to help your employees pay for eligible medical expenses.
How it works
You, your employee, or both of you contribute money to a health savings account every year. Your employee uses the money in the account to pay for eligible medical expenses. When the account is used up, the employee pays the remaining amount of their deductible for medical expenses (based on the IRS list of Section 213(d)
eligible expenses 
).
The account is the employee’s to keep, even if that person leaves the company or retires. And the employee can invest a portion of his or her unused account dollars in a variety of stocks, bonds and mutual funds once the account reaches a certain balance. So it’s a potential savings investment vehicle.
The health coverage
Build the health plan that fits your company best by selecting:
- Network
of doctors and hospitals
- Deductible
Choose from different levels of employee cost-sharing with:
- Deductibles from $1,200 to $6,000
- Medical out-of-pocket maximums
from $1,600 to $6,050
- Different coinsurance options
The higher the employee cost-sharing, the lower your monthly rate.
See an in-network or Tier 1 doctor, and your employees pay $0 for preventive care. Referrals are never needed to see an in-network specialist.
After meeting their deductible, your employees pay zero to 20 percent of the cost of their prescription drugs, depending on the coinsurance you select.
Want to learn more?
Read more about our most popular Options Blue HSA plans (PDF)
Choice of networks
Whether you and your employees are at home or traveling, the Blue Cross network is there.
In Minnesota
This health plan lets you choose your network of doctors and hospitals in Minnesota.
Choose the Aware® network if you want to give your employees the broadest access to doctors and hospitals at the lowest out-of-pocket costs. It has unparalleled breadth and depth, including 98 percent of doctors and 100 percent of hospitals in Minnesota. More than 39,000 health care providers in the state are in the Aware network.
Choose a Blue PerformanceSM network if you’re concerned with cost but don’t want to sacrifice choice. The Blue Performance networks include the exact same doctors and hospitals as the Aware network but separate the health care providers into tiers, or levels, based on cost:
- Tier 1 health care providers cost less
- Tier 2 health care providers cost more
With Blue Performance, your employees pay for higher-cost providers only when they choose to use them. They are rewarded with their best benefits and lowest out-of-pocket costs when they choose providers that cost less.
Looking for the lowest cost network? You want Blue Performance Enhanced.
» Search the Blue Performance Enhanced network
Blue Performance Regional is the next most affordable network. It has more doctors and hospitals in Tier 1 than Blue Performance Enhanced.
» Search the Blue Performance Regional network
Nationally
This health plan comes with the national BlueCard® network. It includes more than 92 percent of doctors and 96 percent of hospitals in the United States.
If you choose Aware for your statewide network, your health plan comes with the BlueCard Traditional network. It has the broadest selection of health care providers nationally.
» Search BlueCard Traditional network
Note: Click the "Add filter" button, then "Network," and select "BlueCard Traditional"
If you choose Blue Performance Enhanced or Regional for your statewide network, your health plan comes with the BlueCard PPO network. It has the greatest savings for services nationally.
» Search the BlueCard PPO network
Note: Click the "Add filter" button, then "Network," and select "BlueCard PPO/EPO"
Internationally
This health plan comes with the BlueCard Worldwide® network. It gives you and your employees access to doctors and hospitals in more than 200 countries.
Smile. We offer dental plans, too.
A healthier lifestyle includes good oral health
A growing body of evidence links oral health to overall health. Complement your new health plan from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota with a dental plan from Delta Dental® of Minnesota.
Find a plan that fits you
Choose a dental plan to fit your business. There’s a basic plan (PDF) that covers preventive exams and cleanings as well as more comprehensive coverage (PDF).
Delta Dental of Minnesota is independent from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Healthier people are happier and more productive
Your employees want to be healthy, and you can help them on their path to wellness. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota’s health and wellness programs give employees access to the right services for their health.
- All group plans include:
- Online Health Assessment: a first step on your employees’ path to better health, at no additional cost
- Online Health Coaching: online programs that can help your employees with weight management, stress, smoking cessation and more
- Health Guides and Nurse Guides: health professionals dedicated to providing the best customer service to your employees
- Dedicated Nurses: nurses your employees can trust to help them with questions they may have about their care
- Stop-Smoking Support: tools that have helped more than 1 in 3 enrollees quit tobacco successfully
- Access to more than 50,000 online health and wellness resources
- Employee communication support and toolkits
- Workplace wellness strategies and support
- Community health and wellness initiatives
- Small group plans also include:
- Fitness Discounts: more than 1,000 fitness centers to choose from in Minnesota
- Healthy Start® Prenatal Support: 29% lower incidence of preterm births than national rates
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): 59% decreased absenteeism after using the program
- 24-Hour Nurse Advice Line: savings of more than $2.70 for every dollar invested
- Enhanced Stop-Smoking Support (with medications): medications added to coaching double the chances of success
- Telephone-based lifestyle coaching
- Self-care guide
- And discounts on...
- Complementary care, like acupuncture and massage
- Laser vision correction surgery
- Weight Watchers®
Weight Watchers is the registered trademark of Weight Watchers International Inc. and is used under license.
Perks: The extra benefits you get with your benefits
Cost savingsPremiums, or monthly rates, aren’t the only costs to consider when buying a health plan for your business. With Blue Cross, you and your employees will also save with:
- Free preventive care
- Free over-the-counter prescription drugs prescribed by your doctor for allergies or heartburn
- Limits on your out-of-pocket costs
each year
That's not all. You and your employees also get discounts on:
- Acupuncture and massage
- Weight Watchers®
- LASIK eye surgery
- Home medical equipment and supplies
ConvenienceYou and your employees can connect with the care and information you want, when you want with:
- A personalized online account to view your health plan information 24 hours a day, seven days a week
-
Live, online interactive visits with a doctor
- Medications delivered to your door by mail
- No need for a referral to see an in-network specialist
Weight Watchers is the registered trademark of Weight Watchers International Inc. and is used under license.
