Regulators struggle with Obamacare's narrow networks problem

California has been ground zero for fights over narrow networks. Early on, controversy erupted in the state when it became clear that Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of the nation’s premier hospitals, would not be included in any exchange plans, and UCLA Medical Center, another top facility, would only be included in a few networks.

The backlash against narrow network plans has triggered a wave of consumer lawsuits against insurance companies in California. Regulators are investigating the narrow network problem, and last month the state legislature passed a bill aimed at addressing the issue. But the Los Angeles Times noted that “Anthem and other insurers largely stuck with that narrow-network strategy for 2015 plans in Covered California and outside the exchange.”

New Hampshire regulators have touted progress on this front. For 2014 the state only had one insurance company, Anthem, whose network included just 16 of the state’s 26 acute care hospitals. But in 2015 the state expects to have five insurers participate in the exchanges, and each of the 26 hospitals is expected to be carried by at least two networks.