New health plans sold through exchanges not accepted at some prestigious NYC hospitals

[PoliticAverse]

NEW YORK — New Yorkers buying a health plan on the state’s new insurance exchange should read the fine print if they’re interested in getting care at some of the city’s top hospitals.

Not all are participating in the new plans created by the Affordable Care Act.

As of this week, not one of the plans for sale on New York’s health benefit exchange would cover treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, one of the world’s largest and most respected cancer hospitals.

That could mean that the 615,000 individuals and 450,000 small business employees expected to eventually get their insurance through the exchange would have to go someplace else for treatment, or pay the bill out of their own pockets.

Read the rest at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/new-health-plans-sold-through-exchanges-not-accepted-at-some-prestigious-nyc-hospitals/2013/11/20/7538dbb4-5235-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html

[matt819]

1. That sucks, but . . .

Okay, I haven't read the article, so this may be covered (yes, I know, lazy, etc.)

Right or wrong, insurance companies change network providers. They have done so before the ACA, and they will probably do it after. IN my view, this is seriously wrong and akin to a form of rationing. In my state, there is one major hospital system with locations throughout the state. My (soon to be former) provider had part of this system in network and parts out of network. Insane.

So the right way to look at the changes described in the OP is to see what network changes have been made in the past and for what reasons, and why the changes now.

[babylonsister]

2. So now they'll only accept wealthy patients?

They're finite; what happens when that well runs dry or, gawd forbid, not enough wealthy people need their specialized services?

And I didn't read it either: will get to it later hopefully.