Megan McArdle
Bloomberg
2/6/2014
In December, I predicted that “doc shock” was going to be a major problem for the U.S. health-care overhaul, as people found out that the narrow networks insurers use to keep premiums low often don’t cover the top-notch doctors you’d like to see if you get really sick…
…Health-care wonks can insist that narrow networks aren’t news, but clearly, these networks are news to the folks in the plans — and now that they know, they aren’t happy.
Regulators could stand firm against that pressure, on the grounds that however annoying narrow networks are, they’re the necessary price we pay for lower premiums. But it sounds like some of them are already caving, which probably means that the ultra-narrow networks you see on many exchanges will not be long for this world. Which in turn means that you should expect to see higher premiums next year.
The complete article is at Bloomberg.
