<p>“Btw, when I lived in S.CA, my docs WERE 9 miles away.”</p>
<p>Okay, I did a search for a 30-mile radius of my zip code. 2151 doctors under my current plan and 542 doctors with the new plan. A 75% reduction in the network. Would you like me to increase it to a 100 miles?</p>
<p>Narrow networks are a cost-cutting reality of ACA. No-one is denying this.</p>
<p>If Calmom would voluntarily disclose her zip code or region, I would love to check the number of doctors in her region covered under her new exchange plan compared to her current plan.</p>
<p>“Narrow networks are a cost-cutting reality of ACA. No-one is denying this.”</p>
<p>With all due respect, there are many people who are denying this, although not necessarily on this thread.</p>
<p>GP - The architects of the plan are not even denying it. Some ardent supporters will likely blame insurers not ACA. But that appears to be a hopeless argument.</p>
<p>Some people might say that 542 doctors in a 30 mile radius is a sufficiency of doctors.</p>
<p>94960…</p>
<p>How many doctors … That is not my zip, but it is close enough…</p>
<p>And GP, where are you getting the lists?</p>
<p>95409… Where my parents live?</p>
<p>CF, 30 miles not 15. 542 could be okay unless it didn’t include everyone of my doctors.</p>
<p>Go to the Blue Shield site and choose the 2014 individual and family plans (including Covered California) and then select the the bronze HSA plan. Input your zip code and the number of miles. You should probably go no more than 15 miles. Then choose one the shield savings plans (I chose the $5,200 plan) and check the same area for the doctors. You can check your doctors this way, too.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry, I thought you said 30 mile diameter instead of 30 mile radius. I edited my message.</p>
<p>GP, You are not going to do for me what you offered calmom? :(</p>
<p>So I went to Blue Shield and chose the 2014 individual and family plans. I chose the Silver plan, because I don’t really think Bronze is a very good choice for most people. I looked at doctors within 15 miles of me. I narrowed it down to Internal Medicine specialists because I wondered if my doctor would be included. But then I didn’t feel like looking through all 889 Internal Medicine docs to find mine. I suppose she’s there. My rheumatologist is there, anyway.</p>
<p>I don’t doubt that in some places in California the Blue Shield networks are narrow. But then, in some other places in California, they aren’t.</p>
<p>dstark, I entered one of the zip codes for Marin County and I got 1,384 doctors under the new exchange plan and 1,489 under the grandfathered plan. If you increase the miles to 30, the number of doctors drop from 14,060 to 9595, a 32% decrease. Not nearly as bad as my region. Wonder why?</p>
<p>I don’t know where Calmom lives, but I know it’s somewhere in Marin so I tried Corte Madera, 94925. About 6000 docs within 15 miles, and that’s for the Bronze HSA plan.</p>
<p>Blue Shield doesn’t like my region. :(</p>
<p>Goldenpooch, what zip did you use?</p>
<p>CF, I rather not disclose my zip.</p>
<p>Edit You probably know my region, however.</p>
<p>I meant the zip in Marin. I was wondering whether you picked a zip in West Marin, which is surprisingly unpopulated.</p>
<p>(I wouldn’t disclose my zip either.)</p>
<p>I selected 94390, which is central Marin.</p>
<p>I am not a supporter of ACA. However, I suggest people are very spoilt living in populated counties with 10,000 doctors and complaining about a possible dearth of adequate healthcare. </p>
<p>There are rural areas in this country where people need to drive 100 miles to the nearest doctors and hospitals.</p>