Insurers are experimenting to find out what to offer in the exchanges. Answer: the healthy buy on price; the sick want full coverage and access to a full range of providers. ...The research is shaping Blue Cross’s decisions. The company is initially selling a “tiered” plan that requires consumers to pay more to see certain health-care providers, and next year it will roll out a new design with a smaller network, both approaches that can hold costs down. [Thereby appealing to the healthy risk they want.]The insurer also isn’t offering any platinum plans to consumers, partly because the simulation showed they tended to draw people with significant health needs, a particular concern if it’s the only competitor with a platinum product. [Emphasis added]...
Source: WSJ. Hat tip: John Goodman.
