Limited doctor choice plans don't mean worse care

The idea of narrow networks — health insurance plans that limit enrollees to a small set of doctors — is not a concept that's especially popular with consumers. Who wants a health insurance plan, after all, that tells you your favorite doctor is one it won't cover? Narrow networks are common on Obamacare's new exchanges, as health insurers try to hold down premium prices by contracting with fewer doctors. McKinsey and Co. estimates that more than a third of the plans sold on the new marketplaces left out 70 percent of the region's large hospitals. This unsurprisingly led to a barrage of negative headlines about insurers leaving well-known hospitals out of network.