Insurers can bend out-of-network rules for patients who need specific doctors

Aug 16 2017

The Affordable Care Act has so far survived Republican attempts to replace it, but many people still face insurance concerns. Below, I answer three questions from readers.

Q: I have a rare disease, and there is literally only one specialist in my area with the expertise needed to treat me. I am self-employed and have to buy my own insurance. What do I do next year if there are zero insurance plans available that allow me to see my specialist? I cannot “break up” with my sub-specialty oncologist. I must be able to see the doctor that is literally saving my life and keeping me alive.

If the plan you pick covers out-of-network providers, you can continue to see your cancer specialist, although you'll have to pay a higher percentage of the cost than if you were seeing someone in your plan's network.

But many plans these days don't provide any out-of-network coverage. This is certainly true of plans sold on the health insurance exchanges.

The situation you're concerned about — that a specialist you consider crucial to your care isn't in a plan's provider network — isn't uncommon, said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms.

If this happens, you can contact your plan and make the case that this particular provider is the only one who has the expertise to meet your needs. (Unfortunately, you probably can't get this coverage assurance before you sign up.) Then ask your plan to make an exception and treat the out-of-network specialist as if she were in network for cost-sharing purposes. So, if in your plan an in-network specialist visit requires a $250 copayment, for example, the plan would agree that's what you'd be charged to see your out-of-network specialist.

Or not. It's up to the plan officials, and they may argue that someone in network has the expertise you need. If you disagree, you can appeal that decision.

But it may not come to that, said Corlette.

"Plans are prepared for this — the good ones are, anyway," she said. "My understanding is that it's pretty routine to grant exceptions for narrow subspecialties."

Q: My company has asked employees to pay the Cadillac tax rather than putting the burden  on the company. They are also telling us not to worry because it will never happen, but want us to agree that if it does we will take on the cost. Can they do that?

Let's step back for a minute. The so-called Cadillac tax is a 40 percent surcharge on the value of health plans above the thresholds of $10,200 for single coverage and $27,500 for family plans.

A few months ago when it looked as if the ACA was going to be replaced, many employers believed, as yours apparently still does, that the Cadillac tax would never become effective. Both the House and Senate bills delayed the tax until 2026, and a lot can happen between now and then. With the collapse of efforts to repeal the ACA, however, the tax is on the front burner once again, said J.D. Piro, who leads the health and law group at benefits consultant Aon Hewitt. It's set to take effect in 2020.

Under the law, insurers or employers would be responsible for paying the tax, but experts say the costs would likely be passed through to enrollees (whether or not you explicitly agree to absorb them). So it may not matter how you respond to your employer.

Also, employers who don't want to pay the surcharge might sidestep the issue by reducing the value of the plans they offer, said Piro. For example, they could increase employee deductibles and other cost-sharing, make coverage less generous or shrink the provider network.

"That's simplest way to avoid the tax," he said.

Q: I need to purchase affordable health insurance for my two daughters who are 19 and 17. Is Trump insurance available yet? I need something I can afford and everything is so expensive.

President Donald Trump never put forward a proposal to replace the ACA. Instead, he backed the House and Senate replacement versions, which ultimately failed. But those versions might not have addressed your concerns, and you could have several options through the ACA.

"Coverage wouldn't necessarily have been cheaper," said Judith Solomon, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Under the Senate bill, for example, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that average 2018 premiums for single coverage would be 20 percent higher than this year's. In 2020, however, premiums would be 30 percent lower than under current law, on average. But deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs would be higher for most people under the Senate bill, according to the CBO.

Premiums for young people would generally have declined. The bill would have allowed insurers to vary rates to a greater degree based on age, resulting in lower premiums for young people. In addition, premium tax credits generally would have increased for young people with incomes above 150 percent of the poverty level.

Your current coverage options under the ACA depend on your family situation. If you have coverage available to you through your employer, you can keep your daughters on your plan until they turn 26. For many parents, this is the most affordable, comprehensive option.

If that's not a possibility, assuming the three of you live together and you claim them as dependents on your taxes, you may qualify for subsidized coverage on the health insurance marketplace next year. Your household income would need to be no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level (about $82,000 for a family of three). You can apply for that coverage in the fall.

If you live in one of the 31 states plus the District of Columbia that have expanded Medicaid coverage to adults with incomes below 138 percent of the poverty level (about $28,000 for a family of three), you could qualify for that program. You don't have to wait for open enrollment to sign up for Medicaid.

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