L.A. workers protest cutting Cedars, UCLA doctors from health plan

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-cedars-ucla-fallout-20120928,0,213948.story

Some Los Angeles city workers criticized a move to cut doctors affiliated with Cedars-Sinai and UCLA from an employee health plan and urged city leaders to restore access to those physicians.

The cash-strapped city opted for the slimmer network of medical providers from Anthem Blue Cross, in part to save $7.6 million in health premiums next year. The city estimates that about 2,200 city workers and their dependents may lose access to their doctors under these health contracts, which cover about 60,000 people overall.

Cedars-Sinai and UCLA hospitals are not excluded from the health plan network.

At a meeting Friday, more than 15 city attorneys, librarians, engineers and other employees protested the change. Several said they were willing to pay more to maintain access to their regular doctors.