After you have gone through the quoting process with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina®, and have made a selection, it will be necessary to provide BCBSNC® with the first premium payment. Your credit card will be charged at the the time you accept coverage. It doesn't matter that your insurance policy's effective date is thirty days in the future, they will charge the card immediately.

The credit card can be used for the first payment only. You will be billed monthly for all subsequent payments. (Technically, BCBSNC® will allow you to pay monthly with the credit card, but you must fill out the credit card section on the back of the premium statement each month.) Most members on monthly billing, will pay with a check.

Paying by checking account:

Probably the easiest way to make sure that your health insurance payment is made every month, is to have your account debited automatically by BCBSNC®. Provide them with your name as it appears on the check, the routing number and the account number and that is all you have to do. This is better for all involved. You don't have to remember to write a check. (You don't want your insurance to lapse because you were on vacation or were too busy.) It is less expensive for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina® to debit an account rather than handle a paper check, and send a paper bill.

You don't have to worry about BCBSNC® stopping the automatic debit if you cancel your insurance. Unlike other companies you may have done business with in the past, BCBSNC® is diligent about stopping the automatic debit. North Carolina insurance companies are regulated by the North Carolina Department of Insurance. As long as you follow the procedures necessary to stop an automatic debit, you won't have trouble. Simply, the procedure is to provide the insurance company a letter requesting cancellation of the policy on a particular date, the policy number, the names of the people covered on the policy and your signature.

Bank Drafting policies:

Blue Advantage®: BCBSNC® Bank Draft transactions are processed on the 5th of the month a policy is effective. On-going drafts occur on the 5th for 1st of the month bills and 12th for 15th of the month for bills that are effective mid month.

Blue Options HSA(SM): The Blue Options HSA(SM) product will always default to a 1st of the month bill cycle even if the individual chooses an effective date of the 15th. The general rule for drafts is that they occur on the 2nd day in the month that a policy is effective. If it is after the second of the month, the draft will occur immediately.

For individuals with the Blue Options HSA(SM) plan with a 15th effective date , this means that potentially they could draft immediately for only 15 days of premium, then follow with another full month draft when the 5th of the next month occurs. Example: Effective date is 3/15, they enroll on 3/23 and we draft immediately for 15 days. On 4/5, they draft for a full month. Additionally, a 45-day draft will occur in this example if enrollment does not occur until 4/1 or after.

Dental Blue Dental Policies: Look for the dental premium to be drafted on the fifth of the month.

In Summary: It is easiest to have BCBSNC® automatically debit your checking account each month. However, if you prefer to be billed monthly, then use your credit card for the first payment.