California's Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has issued emergency regulations in response to consumer complaints regarding narrow networks, such as having difficulty obtaining appointments with physicians, according to a National Law Review report.
Created by health insurers to help lower costs, narrow networks continue to be a controversial topic. Specifically, in 2014, there were multiple lawsuits filed by and on behalf of patients who realized they no longer had access to their physicians after narrow networks were put into place. Cigna, Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross all faced lawsuits over narrow networks in California last year.
Under the emergency regulations issued in California, health insurers will be required to "include an adequate number of primary care physicians accepting new patients" in their networks, according to the report. Health insurers will also be required to report network changes to the state's Department of Insurance and provide out-of-network care at in-network prices when a patient is unable to receive timely care because there are an insufficient number of care providers in their network, according to the report.
If health insurers in California fail to adhere to the new requirements they could be prohibited from selling insurance in the state in 2016.
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