Consumers Look to Narrow Networks to Save Money

In all the turmoil in healthcare, one surprising truth is emerging: Consumers seem increasingly comfortable trading a greater choice of hospitals or doctors for a health plan that costs significantly less money.

“Are they willing to trade choice and access for price? There’s no question about that,” said Mark Newton, the chief executive of Swedish Covenant Hospital, a Chicago hospital that recently teamed with an Illinois insurer, Land of Lincoln Health, to offer a health plan.

This year, nearly half of the plans offered on public health care exchanges are so-called narrow network options, which sharply limit the medical providers whose services will be covered, new data shows. Furthermore, nearly a fifth are considered “ultranarrow networks,” which offer even fewer choices. At the same time, more employers are also embracing the plans for their workers, largely as a way to lower healthcare costs.

Read more at The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1HnQbCn