If you bought Obamacare in Georgia or Florida you most likely don’t have a lot of options for choosing doctors or hospitals, according to a new study showing that some enrollees may have less choice than others.
A report released Monday found that those two states had the highest amount of Obamacare plans in narrow networks, which limit the number of physicians who are covered. The report concludes that insurers are using narrow networks as a way to keep costs down and remain competitive.
Georgia was the top state for having these narrow networks. The report from the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said 83 percent of Georgia’s networks were narrow. Florida came in second at 79 percent, followed by Oklahoma (78 percent), California (75 percent) and Arizona (73 percent).
In contrast, 13 states have no plans that narrowly limit the physicians who are covered, the report said.
The foundation defined a narrow network as a plan where 25 percent or fewer of doctors in an area are covered. It’s report urges Obamacare customers to determine if their plan covers their current physician.
“So far consumers have received inadequate information about network size when choosing a plan, which matters because there is a significant amount of variation both within and between states,” said Kathy Hempstead, who directs coverage issues for the foundation.
The nonprofit charges that since insurers can no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions, they have turned to narrow networks to keep premiums down.
The study is the latest evidence that narrow networks proliferate Obamacare market exchanges.
An earlier study from the foundation found that four in 10 mid-grade “silver” plans had narrow networks. Another study from the research firm Avalere Health found that Obamacare plans offered on exchanges had 34 percent fewer providers than the average plan issued outside the exchanges.
