Good luck, Jordan. I too am losing doctors right now, for the second time in a little over a year. It's tough as a doctor, whether seen once a year or more, is someone you build a relationship with and come to trust to some extent. I'm disabled and can't afford ACA this year and will have to change doctors after just finding new ones a year ago from September, which was stressful enough! I'm losing 2 doctors and will work out an arrangement with the third, as I only see her a few times a year. I'm also in the middle of physical therapy and that won't be covered either. My current insurance is going up 25%.
As far as doctors to change and not change, usually, unless it's an HMO (where the PCP needs to refer you to a specialist), you may be able to see your doctors who are not covered as out-of-network. If there's certain ones you really don't want to change, I would look into this first. There's two things to check into here, first being the cost to see an out-of-network doctor for each insurance (a specialist is more expensive than a PCP), and if the doctor will take someone who doesn't have that insurance. I had kept my previous PCP once I switched insurance and paid out-of-pocket to see her, and at some point, she no longer accepted patients who didn't have insurance she took. Frustrating since I chose an ACA plan that had her name listed incorrectly! You may want to double-check if you DO see your doctor listed under one as well, as that was a blow to me! Like I did, you can also decide if it's worth it to pay out-of-pocket to see a doctor as well. They may arrange a price for this that is less than if you had full insurance. Getting out-of-network coverage would be better if you had this option depending on how much is covered. Also, you would want to make sure any type of tests or labs done by that doctor are covered as usually, they would all be associated with a certain medical group, and that may not be under your coverage. I had that happen with blood tests I had to take.
It's tough to say what is the best thing to do as far as going throug a company or the insurance group as it sounds like you don't know which one you're going to go with at this point. I had gone through someone for the ACA, but that's different than what you are talking about. I don't know if this is something you pay for or if the insurance company you choose does, but if it's the latter and/or they can get all your questions answered and find the best fit for the best price, I see where the marketplace is helpful. I think insurance can be extremely confusing and it helps to go through someone who knows what he/she is doing unless you have the time to research and wade through it all. As far as people at one saying the other is't the way to go, I'm sure having salespeople at each end influences that too, and both can help you. If you had narrowed it down to one insurance company, they could help you pick the right choice for you at that point. Good luck!
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