Keeping a doctor under Obamacare is no easy feat

When Blue Shield of California was designing the new health plans it would offer individuals under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the insurer made a simple request to doctors and hospital in its network — lower your prices or get left behind. The insurer asked providers to accept reimbursement rates as much as 30 percent lower than what Blue Shield previously paid through plans sold on the individual market. Some providers got on board, but not all. According to the company, just 60 percent of the doctors and 75 of the hospitals that participate in the Blue Shield of California's group plans will be included in individual plans purchased through Covered California, the state's new insurance exchange.