Readers React: Options on Obamacare insurance plans

To the editor: Not all Obamacare networks are limited. (“Obamacare doctor networks to stay limited in 2015,” Sept. 28)

You mentioned that the top three carriers that dominated the first year of enrollment through the Affordable Care Act — Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente — in addition to Health Net are planning either no change or major reductions in coverage as well as physician choice. What you fail to mention is that Kaiser patients have always had full access to all physicians, specialty and ancillary services, as well as second opinions, irrespective of health plan payment source, including the Affordable Care Act.

Kaiser’s model of care is intrinsically different from the others, and therefore “no change” means that it continues to offer all options and choices. This is a case of comparing apples and oranges.

Joanne Levy, Los Alamitos

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To the editor: I applaud The Times for creating what looks to be a very easy-to-use Web site to see if physicians are in a patient’s insurance network.

One would think that Covered California or any number of entities that have received millions in subsidies could have made one that works. In my very limited small sample of physicians that I know, I found an unacceptably high error rate.

Narrow networks only help insurance companies; they create a barrier to physician choice. Can someone please ask President Obama what he meant when he said, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor”?

Howard C. Mandel, MD, Los Angeles

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