Obamacare enrollees having trouble finding specialists

[Sbane]

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http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2014/July/17/narrow-networks-specialists-community-health-centers-insurance.aspx

[Sbane]

Even those bronze plans and ones with narrow networks have very high premiums as well as deductibles. It is really not a good deal for a whole bunch of people.

[Sbane]

Even those bronze plans and ones with narrow networks have very high premiums as well as deductibles. It is really not a good deal for a whole bunch of people.

Insurance is not supposed to be a good deal. It's not an invrstment. It's insurance. It's there to cover your Inks just in case something terrible happens.

And if you are having trouble finding a specialist to treat your cancer, it defeats the purpose.

Also, one can determine value in insurance. It actually is a great deal for those who are old, because their premiums are lower now. Not so much for Obama's base.

[Sbane]

Even those bronze plans and ones with narrow networks have very high premiums as well as deductibles. It is really not a good deal for a whole bunch of people.

Insurance is not supposed to be a good deal. It's not an invrstment. It's insurance. It's there to cover your Inks just in case something terrible happens.

And if you are having trouble finding a specialist to treat your cancer, it defeats the purpose.

Also, one can determine value in insurance. It actually is a great deal for those who are old, because their premiums are lower now. Not so much for Obama's base.

Obama's base is the working poor. They are getting enormous subsidies. It's an incredible deal for them. And despite the clickbait headline, I don't see any evidence here that people in exchange based plans have more difficulty finding docs than those with employer sponsered plans. These are the same private insurance plans that people get through their employers. Mine is with BlueCross. I doubt the doctor's office even knows that I bought mine on the exchange. There is, in fact, no such product as Obamacare.

Every plan has its own network, and the premium is priced based on that. Of course there are employer plans with narrow networks as well, but it's a hilariously naive thing to say that all plans by an insurer have the same network. It could be true for a PCP or a hospital, but plans within an insurer will vary when it comes to specialists as their service is more valuable and they have an upper hand in negotiations with insurers. When designing narrow network plans, such as the Obamacare plans, insurers will likely not include a lot of well known and sought after specialists in that network.

Also, Obama's base includes young, single people of all economic backgrounds. The subsidies for these plans aren't so great if you haven't popped out a couple of kids yet.

[Sbane]

I never said that all plans by one insurer have the same network. BlueCross of TN has several, and I believe all of them are available on the exchange. My point, and I don't think you get this, is that my network is shared with other insured people and not all of them bought their policies on the exchanges. There are people who have their policies sponsored by their employers who have the exact same network I do. There is no such thing as an Obamacare network. But even if there were, it would be incumbent on you to mathmatically demonstrate that the problems are substantially more severe than for the same population, many of whom had no legit insurance at all, before the ACA. Otherwise, your headline may as well say "Chinese people having trouble finding specialists." In some cases, it may be literally true because it's an issue for everybody, but there is a profoundly misleading issue of connectivity implied.

Sigh. Some plans are narrow network and some are not. I don't understand why this is so hard for you to get, although I should not be surprised. Even BCBST, who you say is your insurer, has a P network and a S network.

And before you say both networks are available on the exchange, in order to get the better network one must pay more. My point is that even the cheapest plans on the exchange with the crappy network has a high premium and high deductible.

[Sbane]

I never said that all plans by one insurer have the same network. BlueCross of TN has several, and I believe all of them are available on the exchange. My point, and I don't think you get this, is that my network is shared with other insured people and not all of them bought their policies on the exchanges. There are people who have their policies sponsored by their employers who have the exact same network I do. There is no such thing as an Obamacare network. But even if there were, it would be incumbent on you to mathmatically demonstrate that the problems are substantially more severe than for the same population, many of whom had no legit insurance at all, before the ACA. Otherwise, your headline may as well say "Chinese people having trouble finding specialists." In some cases, it may be literally true because it's an issue for everybody, but there is a profoundly misleading issue of connectivity implied.

Sigh. Some plans are narrow network and some are not. I don't understand why this is so hard for you to get, although I should not be surprised. Even BCBST, who you say is your insurer, has a P network and a S network.

And before you say both networks are available on the exchange, in order to get the better network one must pay more. My point is that even the cheapest plans on the exchange with the crappy network has a high premium and high deductible.

And this is different than employer sponsered plans because? Restrictive networks are an issue. I agree with you on that. My concern is that you are suggesting it's a problem primarily for the "Obamacare" crowd. Many employers also give a few options with different (subsidized) prices for insurance, even if they are within the same insurer. Before the exchanges were in operation, I had a policy that I bought individually and I also had to choose my network carefully then. What is the specific connection between the ACA and the network issue? 

It's not a good value considering the premium, especially for the young.