While premiums and deductibles continue to rise, the plans offered
are steadily deteriorating in quality. The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation reported last month that PPOs, which provide health insurance
that pays for both in-network and out-of-network health providers, are
dwindling as an option on the Obamacare exchanges.
People shopping for insurance in the ACA “marketplace” are
increasingly finding the offerings limited to health maintenance
organizations (HMOs) and exclusive-provider organizations, both of which
provide extremely limited coverage when patients want to visit an
out-of-network health care provider.
The availability of PPOs on the HealthCare.gov exchange is expected
to fall by 41 percent between 2015 and 2016. As of this year in New York
City, no PPOs were offered either through Obamacare or on a private
insurance exchange, but were available only through employer-provided
coverage.
For a patient suffering from a debilitating disease, restriction to
an HMO likely means he will no longer be able to visit a specialist,
such as an oncologist or rheumatologist, with whom he has established a
relationship over months or years. The impact is potentially
life-threatening.
-- Kate Randall, "Obamacare enrollment deadline: Fines mount for failure to buy costly, barebones insurance" (WSWS).