Obama Says Obamacare’s Limited Doctor Networks are About Choice—But In Some Cases There Isn’t One

The gist of President Obama’s excuse for why some people can’t
keep their doctors under his health care overhaul is that it’s not
really his fault. Don’t blame the president, because it’s all just
a natural part of the health insurance marketplace.

Asked in
a WebMD interview about limited access to doctors under the
law, Obama responded, “these are private insurance plans, which
means that they’re going to have networks. That’s pretty much true
of any health insurance plan you’ve got right now…that’s not unique
to the Affordable Care Act.”

What it comes down to, he said, is people making choices.

“For the average person, for many folks who don’t have health
insurance initially, they’re going to have to make some choices.
They might have to end up switching doctors in part because they’re
saving money. But that’s true if your employer suddenly decides
this network is going to give you a better deal. ‘We think this is
going to help keep premiums lower. You gotta use this doctor as
opposed to this one.’”

Well, yes, people in the private health insurance market have to
consider tradeoffs and make their own choices. But the choices
about plans and coverage networks facing many people now have come
about as a direct result of Obamacare, which, by design, shook up
the market for individual health coverage.

Thanks to Obamacare, the health plans—and the networks and
doctors that went along with them—that millions of people had and
liked are no longer available. Those people had made their choices,
and then Obama took their choices away, after promising that he
wouldn’t. The choice those people have now is a choice that he
forced upon them, that many didn’t want, and that he said they
wouldn’t have to make.

Meanwhile, the plan choices offered through the law’s exchanges
are, in many cases, rather limited. In 515 mostly rural counties in
15 different states, there’s only one health insurer selling
coverage,
according to The Wall Street Journal. In the vast
majority of those counties, the local Blue Cross & Blue Shield
plan is the only option.

Obama acknowledges as much, while attempting to frame it as good
news. “The good news” he says, “is, in most states, people have
more than one option.” Put another way: This is about choice. But
in some places, there isn’t one. The only choices Obama likes are
the ones that he allows.