I've always been a single-payer advocate but I must admit... [View all]

[SHRED]

...I had been lulled into complacency somewhat with the ACA.

The harsh ACA reality here in California is that insurance companies have combined extremely narrow and limited networks along with pitiful doctor choices for a toxic mix of substandard coverage.

People will be forced to seek care outside their networks to get adequate and in some cases the specialized care they will need to survive.

There will still be bankruptcies due to health care costs. Those with coverage are still going to see their rates rise to cover those who can't afford their care.

The ACA is a band-aid over a gaping wound.
We need a public health care system in the USA NOW more then ever!

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Blue Shield will offer only limited network Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Exclusive Provider Organization(EPO)plans to all new individual buyers. All new customers who have been anticipating purchasing guaranteed issue individual insurance for themselves and their families, will have access to a network that excludes 65% of current Blue Shield doctors and all the University of California Medical Centers.

Network access will be determined by county of residence. In Marin and Alameda counties, for example, Blue Shield plans to use an Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO). Buyers will find their access to medical services restricted to the doctors and medical facilities within the EPO in their county or an EPO doctor in another county. If the policyholder crosses the Golden Gate Bridge or Bay Bridge to consult with a San Francisco PPO doctor, s/he will have no insurance. If a San Francisco resident moves to Alameda, s/he will not be able to keep her San Francisco doctors.

It appears that carriers are also able to exclude residents of specific zip codes from access to their insurance plans. If one carrier can exclude residents in certain zip codes, what is the rationale to require other carriers to cover residents in that same zip code? The ACA requires insurers to accept all applicants regardless of health conditions. But California is allowing exclusion by residence location.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-shargel/protect-californians-choi_b_4158146.html