By Elisabeth Rosenthal
The New York Times, Feb. 7, 2015
When Karen Pineman of Manhattan received notice that her longtime health insurance policy didnāt comply with the Affordable Care Actās requirements, she gamely set about shopping for a new policy through the public marketplace. After all, sheād supported President Obama and the act as a matter of principle.
Ms. Pineman, who is self-employed, accepted that sheād have to pay higher premiums for a plan with a narrower provider network and no out-of-network coverage. She accepted that sheād have to pay out of pocket to see her primary care physician, who didnāt participate. She even accepted having co-pays of nearly $1,800 to have a cast put on her ankle in an emergency room after she broke it while playing tennis.
But her frustration bubbled over when she tried to arrange a follow-up visit with an orthopedist in her Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield network: The nearest doctor available who treated ankle problems was in Stamford, Conn. When she called to protest, her insurer said that Stamford was 14 miles from her home and 15 was considered a reasonable travel distance. āIt was ridiculous ā didnāt they notice it was in another state?ā said Ms. Pineman, 46, who was on crutches.
She instead paid $350 to see a nearby orthopedist and bought a boot on Amazon as he suggested. She has since forked over hundreds of dollars more for a physical therapist that insurance didnāt cover, even though that provider was in-network.
The Affordable Care Act has ushered in an era of complex new health insurance products featuring legions of out-of-pocket coinsurance fees, high deductibles and narrow provider networks. Though commercial insurers had already begun to shift toward such policies, the health care law gave them added legitimacy and has vastly accelerated the trend, experts say.
Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/sunday-review/insured-but-not-covered.html