Leave it to New York’s Health Department to make everything more complicated and expensive in the name of making it more affordable.
At issue is out-of-network benefits for health-insurance plans bought on the state health exchange. Certainly they sound good on paper, especially for those who don’t get these benefits now.
But insurers say the whole purpose of networks is to lower costs. They also say such a move would result in a 30 percent increase in premiums, which rather defeats the purpose if the aim is to bring down the cost of coverage.
Making matters worse, the Health Department seems to be rushing this through. From the way this same department has procrastinated on its fracking study, we would never have guessed it could move this fast. Insurers were notified they might have to offer these benefits on Feb. 26, with comments due six days later.
Given that proposed rates must be filed with the state by late next month, that gives insurance companies barely six weeks to figure out a competitive price structure.
Nor is it just a matter of computing costs. Some plans on the exchange have never offered such coverage before, and a spokeswoman for the New York Health Plan Association told Crains that those companies “may have to rethink their whole business model.” That would mean manor changes the whole health-care marketplace.
We’re all in favor of consumers having the widest possible choice. But what’s does “affordable” health insurance mean if the state is going to make it more expensive for consumers and providers alike?