4 ms·
> I wouldn't necessary blame the insurance. Why not? They're the ones who are gatekeeping the product (their network) at the same time as they're selling acces
by chimeracoder 3y ago
> I wouldn't necessary blame the insurance.
Why not? They're the ones who are gatekeeping the product (their network) at the same time as they're selling access to their network (this is considered one of the "features" on which insurance companies compete and sell their product).
Not to mention that, as mentioned in the article, insurers are legally required to maintain a sufficiently large network to enable their patients to receive care in a timely manner.
If insurance companies want to restrict patients and limit them to seeking care from providers within a preapproved, artificially limited network, then it's totally fair to criticize them for not ensuring that their network is sufficiently large and accessible to be practically usable by patients.
- munk-a 3y agoPrecisely - this is a problem that insurers themselves have created... they deserve no pity for it.
- PaulHoule 3y agoEven if the insurance had everybody in the network, psychiatric help is still scarce in 2023. Some people still think it is like One Flew out of the Cuckoo's Nest but really you can be suicidal and still spend 48 hours in the emergency room before getting to spend another 96 hours in the psych ward, get a depot injection of Haloperidol decanoate and get discharged. Never mind trying to see a talk therapist.
- CogitoCogito 3y agoThe US should just stop playing these games. Networks should be banned. Their purpose is to restrict choice not to increase it. It doesn't serve a rational economic purpose (other than enriching a parasitic minority).