BCBS is also a network, not the insurance company. So you never buy insurance from BCBS, but rather whichever insurance company has chosen to be a franchise, such as Regence, Horizon NJ, Independence, Elevance, etc.
Yeah, my impression is that healthcare exchange plans are much better and cheaper in blue states than out here in flyover country. It's a shitshow out here. A wallet-emptying shitshow. Not exactly worse than before—at least stuff like pre-existing condition exclusions are gone—but definitely not good either.
NJ even has a public document listing all the insurance prices, and they matched the amount quoted to me by the insurance agent for my business.
https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_insurance/ihcseh/ihcra...
BCBS is also a network, not the insurance company. So you never buy insurance from BCBS, but rather whichever insurance company has chosen to be a franchise, such as Regence, Horizon NJ, Independence, Elevance, etc.