“If you’ve got a doctor that you like, you will be able to keep your doctor,” President Obama assured the public as he worked to sell Obamacare in 2010. However, in July 2013, visitors to Healthcare.gov received a less confident “you may be able to” in answer to the question, “Can I keep my own doctor?” Beginning October 1, users of the Maryland Health Connection, that state’s Obamacare insurance exchange, might have an even more basic question: Are there any doctors?
A consumer information update dated the day the exchange opened informed users (at least those who took the time to read the updates) that the doctor search function was not yet operational and they would need to visit an external website to find out which doctors accept which plans. The full update reads as follows [emphasis added]:
