Thousands of residents in southwest Missouri are scrambling to find new doctors after insurance changes left CoxHealth — the region’s largest health system — unavailable for many marketplace patients.
The disruption comes as nearly 350,000 Missourians enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans this year. That number represents about 5% of all the state’s residents, but it’s actually about 10% lower than a year ago, as Congress letting federal subsidies lapse, meaning insurance premiums for those on ACA marketplace plans skyrocketed.
In Greene and Webster Counties, many patients say they were unable to find plans that include CoxHealth providers, forcing them to switch coverage, change doctors or go without care.The decision affects Springfield, the state’s third-largest city – which is also home to CoxHealth’s headquarters…