Anthem adds two hospitals back into network, says rate increases will be reduced by 25 percent

Source: The Telegraph, Nashua, N.迷你倉H.Sept. 06--CONCORD -- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire says cutting 10 hospitals, including Southern New Hampshire Regional Medical Center in Nashua, out of a provider network for individual health insurance will reduce proposed rate increases by 25 percent.Anthem also added two, North Country hospitals onto its "narrower network" in response to criticism leaving them out would make consumers travel long distances especially to see an obstetrician or gynecologist.Androscoggin Valley Regional Hospital in Berlin and Littleton Regional Hospital are now part of this new, smaller network of hospitals."These plans also feature a select provider network called Pathway, which meets all New Hampshire network adequacy requirements and offers a price point that is approximately 25 percent lower than a product using a broad network," Anthem said Thursday in a press release.Most customers still should see a higher premium charge since, by Anthem's own admission, individual insurance policies will increase on average by 30 to 40 percent without this smaller network of hospitals.Internally, Anthem officials are said to be concerned many younger, healthier residents in the state without insurance won't buy coverage as required under the federal law and instead pay less than a $100 annual fine to the Internal Revenue Service.If the healthy don't sign up, then this individual health care pool could be dominated by the uninsured with more serious health problems who couldn't afford to buy private coverage on their own.Starting Jan. 1, Anthem will use this "narrower network" for all customers with individual insurance, whether they are in or out of the exchange also known as 儲存倉he marketplace under the Affordable Care Act.About a third of the 40,000 with current, Anthem individual policies will be exempt from these new restrictions because they've had coverage since before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 201.Anthem is the only carrier offering coverage under the exchange designed to significantly reduce the 180,000 residents without any insurance.Meanwhile, Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, weighed in on the controversy and criticized Gov. Maggie Hassan's administration for staying silent about these changes."It is troubling the executive branch knew about these impending reductions for over two months, saw fit to send them to the federal government for approval, and through it all said nothing to the people who will be directly affected by the changes -- many of whom will lose access to the doctors they have known their entire lives," Morse said.Governor Hassan's communications director Marc Goldberg said the GOP-led Senate this year continued a Republican campaign over the past three years to prevent the federal health care law from working well for consumers."At every step along the way, Republicans in the legislature have impeded and obstructed implementation of New Hampshire's health benefit marketplace, undermining health coverage for New Hampshire's families, individuals and small businesses, and now, they're trying to play politics with people's health care," Goldberg said.Kevin Landrigan can reached at 321-7040 or klandrigan@nashua telegraph.com. Also, follow Landrigan on Twitter (@Klandrigan).Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Telegraph (Nashua, N.H.) Visit The Telegraph (Nashua, N.H.) at .nashuatelegraph.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉價錢