Covered California Physician, Hospital Directory Taken Offline
On Wednesday, Covered California officials took offline a consolidated directory of doctors and hospitals affiliated with insurance policies offered through the exchange, Modern Healthcare reports.
The directory originally was scheduled to be available last week, but it was delayed and did not go online until Monday afternoon (McKinney, Modern Healthcare, 10/10).
Reasons for Removal
Officials said the list was removed from the site because of:
- Inaccuracies; and
- Slow loading times (Sisson, U-T San Diego, 10/10).
Roy Kennedy -- an exchange spokesperson -- said staff is working to improve the directory's:
- Navigation paths;
- Capacity; and
- Search functions.
Kennedy said the directory likely will be back online next week "with improved performance."
In the meantime, the site is offering users a list of contact information for insurers participating in the exchange.
"We recognize that many consumers will base plan selection on the provider network so it's critical that it's operating efficiently," Kennedy said, adding, "We think the next version of the directory will be faster, smoother and easier to use" (Modern Healthcare, 10/10).
Other Directory Problems
Jeffrey Rideout -- senior medical adviser at Covered California -- said consumers also have reported problems identifying which plans are being serviced by popular provider groups. The directory currently only allows searches based on:
- Doctor or hospital name; and
- ZIP code.
Rideout said the exchange is working to more accurately label categories in the directory, but officials plan to offer a broader view of which networks are affiliated with health plans in the latter part of the open enrollment period (U-T San Diego, 10/10).
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