Consumer Advocates Have Important Role to Play in Monitoring Provider Networks

The Affordable Care Act has helped level the playing field among insurers in terms of their ability to compete on cost in the individual and small group markets.  Many insurers are turning to limited network products as a way to leverage more favorable pricing from providers, drive down unit cost, and lower premiums.

Our colleagues at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reform David Cusano and Amy Thomas discuss insurers’ approaches to the development of plan networks in the post-ACA era in a new blog post for Health Affairs

They write:

“While limited networks may have the potential to mitigate premium increases and drive quality in the private marketplace, they also have the potential to limit a consumer’s choice of, and access to, providers.  Therefore, stakeholders need to monitor the impact of these networks and work together to find the appropriate balance among cost, quality, access, and choice.”

Read their full post at http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2014/02/17/narrow-networks-under-the-aca-financial-drivers-and-implementation-strategies/.

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