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Overview

With the proliferation of narrow network plans on the new marketplaces, consumers are being steered to plans that offer lower prices but limited choice. Insurers may offer narrow network plans to attract price-sensitive consumers who are willing to tradeoff network breadth for less costly premiums. Yet, anecdotal evidence suggests that the resulting provider networks may be narrower than expected, leaving consumers vulnerable to the financial burden of out-of-network care.

This free webinar addressed the potential policy responses to the growth of narrow network plans and identified where more evidence is needed, to inform researchers and decision makers. Michael Chernew from Harvard Medical School presented the underlying evidence and motivations behind network design strategies, Lynn Quincy from the Consumers Union explored the implications of these network design strategies for consumers, and Sabrina Corlette from Georgetown University discussed recent state experience and action in response to narrow networks. This webinar was an extension of a Research Insights meeting that was held in December 2014. If you are interested in learning more about narrow network plans please check out our issue brief

This presentation is intended to be a professional resource. Please note that some of the slides are pre-publication and are not intended for distribution or citation.

This webinar was presented by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) initiative and a Research Insights conference grant from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Learning Objectives
This webinar provided:

  • An overview of the effectiveness of network design strategies with respect to cost and quality and access to care.
  • Overview of provider and consumer responses.
  • A discussion of recent state experience with narrow networks.
  • Regulatory and policy recommendations to preserve the benefits of these designs while shielding consumers from access problems and unexpected financial burdens.
  • Identification of high-priority research questions to better inform policy and practice.

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Faculty

Moderator:

Staff

Megan Collado, M.P.H.

Senior Director - AcademyHealth

Megan Collado is a Senior Director at AcademyHealth, where she manages a number of Robert Wood Johnson Foundat... Read Bio

Chernew Headshot
Presenter

Michael Chernew, Ph.D.

Professor - Harvard Medical School

Michael Chernew, PhD, is the Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy and the director of the Heal... Read Bio

Corlette headshot
Presenter

Sabrina Corlette, J.D.

Research Professor - Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR)

Sabrina Corlette, J.D., is a Research Professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) at Georgetown... Read Bio

Quincy
Presenter

Lynn Quincy, M.A.

Director of the Healthcare Value Hub - Altarum

Lynn Quincy is Director of the Healthcare Value Hub at Altarum, a company that creates and implements solution... Read Bio

Presentation Slides

Additional Resources

This webinar addressed the potential policy responses to the growth of narrow network plans and identified where more evidence is needed to inform researchers and decision makers. Relevant, additional resources are included below. 

In response to a question about provider directories, Lynn Quincy, Consumers Union, suggested the following resources.

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