, Columnist
'Doc Shock' Reaches the Masses
Health-care wonks can insist that narrow networks aren't news, but clearly, these networks are news to the folks in the plans -- and now that they know, they aren’t happy.
This article is for subscribers only.
In December, I predicted that "doc shock" was going to be a major problem for the U.S. health-care overhaul, as people found out that the narrow networks insurers use to keep premiums low often don't cover the top-notch doctors you'd like to see if you get really sick:
"If narrow networks could give everyone in the country access to health-care outcomes no worse than 90 percent as good as the folks with the best doctors at 75 percent of the price we'd pay for broader networks, the health-care wonks would jump on that deal as an unbelievable bargain. But I think it's pretty clear that average folks don't think like health-care wonks.