Many plans offered through the new health insurance exchanges will offer consumers limited physician and hospital choices, mainly to drive down premiums, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Health insurers such as WellPoint and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois reason people buying coverage through the exchanges won't mind losing some flexibility and choice if it means they pay lower premiums, according to the report. The plans BCBS of Illinois will sell through the exchange with limited provider networks will cost as much as 30 percent less than other plans the insurer will sell on the marketplace with more hospital and physician options, Steve Hamman, a vice president at BCBS of Illinois, told The Wall Street Journal.
Although Americans have historically been reluctant to accept limited provider choices, insurer-sponsored research shows many people shopping for coverage through the new marketplaces will focus mostly on premiums, according to the report.
An analysis of plans offered on the exchanges in 13 states — conducted by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. — found 47 percent were HMOs or similarly designed policies, which don't pay for care outside of their provider networks, according to the report.
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