Payer are hungry for members and with more young companies moving into the health insurance game and more consolidation, competition has been ramping up. Some are using free primary care doctor visits to attract new members.
National Public Radio and Kaiser Health News reported that the move by a handful of plans comes as data suggests that high copays and deductibles have discouraged many Americans who signed up for private coverage in the past two years from using their new insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Among the insurers doing this are Harken Health, an independently operated affiliate of UnitedHealthcare, and Zoom+ — a couple of new health insurers. According to NPR, they will provide unlimited free primary care visits at company-owned clinics. Harken is based in Chicago and Atlanta. Zoom+ is located in Portland, Oregon. More established insurer Florida Blue is offering low-income members two free primary care visits per year, the article notes.
Another, Molina Healthcare, is going a step further. In addition to free primary care visits for some plans it’s offering free visits to specialists in seven states.
The Obama Administration is keen to attract more people to buy insurance, demonstrated by its collaboration with the likes of ZocDoc and Oscar. They developed funky public service announcements to provide more clarity on health insurance terminology and to provide guidance on how plans differed to demystify the process for the more than 10 million people who lack insurance and would likely be purchasing it for the first time.
If the free doctor visits have an impact, it could lead to a rethink by more insurers, especially those looking to curb people who frequently use emergency room visits as their go-to primary care option.
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