+ Regulatory
Jamie Barrand | Oct 28, 2015

Study finds lack of specialists in health plans offered through insurance marketplaces

A recent federal insurance marketplace study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that nearly 15 percent of insurance plans provided no in-network physician for at least one specialty.

The study looked at physician networks in 34 states offering plans through the federal marketplace during 2015 open enrollment; 135 plans were included in the analysis.

The most commonly excluded specialties were endocrinology, rheumatology and psychiatry.

To date, approximately 2 million individuals get their health care coverage via the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplaces. Under law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulates plans and has put in place a "reasonable access" standard to ensure access to "a sufficient number and type of providers."

Still, there are concerns about network adequacy, the study indicated.

The study was published in Tuesday's issue of Jama.

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