Washington Post health care reporter Sarah Kliff said Monday that the next wave of Obamacare outrage will hit as Obamacare enrollees discover that their choice of doctors and hospitals is about to shrink dramatically.
"Obamacare's narrow networks are going to make people furious – but they might control costs," wrote Kliff.
Narrowing a network means limiting patient choice of doctors and hospitals in an effort to cut costs. A McKinsey and Co. study says that 38% of Obamacare plans allow patients to choose from only 30% of the 20 largest hospitals in their geographic regions, with another 32% leaving patients 31%-70% of these.
Even Obamacare supporter Timothy Jost, who writes for Health Affairs, concedes Obamacare enrollees will be "unhappy to learn that their doctors are not available and shocked to discover charges from out-of-network specialists when they go to in-network hospitals."
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3 comments:
The article should say MORE FURIOUS!
People just stop bitchin and vote all Democrats out of office, beginning at the local and state level.
Networks have been around for decades. My health insurance is provided by my employer. It has changed several times in my career. The amount of coverage, the deductible, the doctors "in" network, etc. You still have the option to go to an "out" of network doctor, but you are responsible for the price difference. It has been headed in this direction for many many years.
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