The Affordable Care Act aimed to increase patient access to care. Although it has certainly improved the share of patients who are insured, it is not clear whether it has actually improved “access.” Many health insurance exchange plans are able to offer low premiums by limiting the number or type of doctors you are able to use.
Describing the prevalence of these “narrow networks” across states is a recent RWJ issue brief by Polsky and Weiner (2015). Below are the states whose health insurance exchange plans are most likely to have narrow network.
Source:
- Polsky D, and Weiner J. State Variation in Narrow Networks on the ACA Marketplaces. RWJ Issue Brief. August 2015.