Health Insurance and You!

Two years from now, states and the federal government will begin operating their health insurance exchanges, online marketplaces where customers can compare the plans, prices, and networks offered by insurers in the state and enroll in the coverage of their choice. Online exchanges aren’t completely new – in fact, GetInsured.com is one of several private exchanges – but they have gained traction recently as an important part of health reform.

Now, notes Elizabeth Stawicki of Minnesota Public Radio, there is a new trend among health insurance companies: ahead of the 2014 launch of the government-run exchanges, several insurers are starting their own exchanges. Unlike the public exchanges, these sites may offer plans from only one insurer, allowing some comparison-shopping but only between the plans offered by that insurer.

But why? According to Ron Rowe of Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas City, quoted by Ms. Stawicki, the aim is to get customers used to the format of an online exchange and familiarize them with the coverage a given company offers before the public exchanges force insurers to compete directly. Because switching plans often requires finding new doctors and hospitals, which can be unpredictable and a hassle, insurers hope that customers will develop loyalty to their plan by the time 2014 rolls around, rather than shop around for something new.

Readers, what do you think of this approach? We often suggest that you evaluate your coverage every year to make sure it’s still the best value and package for you (here and here, for example), but having to switch providers is a very real barrier to that. When you read about the plans that are out there, what factors would make you consider a switch?