Humana-ChoiceCare, one of the largest health insurers in Greater Cincinnati, has begun selling a new type of health plan that gives consumers more choice of doctors and hospitals. But it also makes consumers more responsible for health care costs.

        The new “Choice Plan” will be available to employers in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, with as few as two employees starting June 1. Nearly 370,000 people are members of Humana-ChoiceCare plans in Cincinnati and Dayton.

        Meanwhile, Humana, the parent company, has launched its “SmartSuite” health plan that offers a new range of coverage options to large employers in 18 states.

        For consumers, the Choice Plan will be much different than joining a traditional HMO. Instead of being required to use a limited set of doctors and hospitals, nearly every provider in the city — plus out-of-town experts — would be available through three basic tiers of coverage.

        Each time a person needs health care services, they pick a provider from the various tiers, and pay accordingly.

        This arrangement more closely fits how people actually make health care decisions, Humana-ChoiceCare officials said. For example, people rarely pay attention to which cancer experts are included in their health plan until they have cancer. Only then do they find out whether care from a highly recommended expert will be covered.

        The new plan eliminates those sorts of surprises.

        “This gives us the opportunity to provide a product that gives consumers the freedom of choice that they want but also gets them more involved in the costs of their care,” said Larry Savage, president and CEO of Humana Health Plan of Ohio Inc., which manages Humana-ChoiceCare plans in Greater Cincinnati.

        Several insurers already offer multitiered coverage for prescription drugs. Humana-ChoiceCare becomes the first in Greater Cincinnati to extend the concept to hospitals and doctors. But it won't be the last, said George Morrison, health and welfare unit leader at the Cincinnati office of Towers Perrin, a benefits consulting company.

        “Consumerism is a real push now among all the plans,” Mr. Morrison said. “Anthem is working on a very similar type of product and others are as well.”

        “A lot of larger employers already offer a variety of plan choices to employees. But a lot of smaller employers offer only one choice. I think smaller employers will find this type of plan very attractive.”

        The consumerism factor kicks in as people choose which doctors and hospitals to use.

        In the Choice Plan, co-payments for doctors in “Option 1” typically will be $10. That tier includes nearly 800 primary care doctors and more than 1,400 specialists.

        The hospitals in the lowest-cost tier will be the members of Tri-Health, Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, plus Dayton's Good Samaritan and Miami Valley hospitals.

        Visiting doctors on the “Option 2” list will cost $20. This tier adds 960 primary care doctors and more than 800 specialists — nearly the rest of the practicing doctors in Greater Cincinnati.

        Hospitals in this tier include Middletown Regional, Deaconess, Clinton Memorial, Dearborn County, Adams County, Brown County and McCullough-Hyde hospitals; plus eight Dayton-area hospitals.

        Visiting “Option 3” doctors would involve co-payments ranging from 30 percent to 50 percent, depending on the employer. In general, this is how the plan would pay if a patient chooses to go out of town for care.

        The Cincinnati suburban hospitals of Mercy Health Partners and Northern Kentucky's St. Elizabeth Medical Center would be in this third tier, along with out-of-town centers.

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