New York State health officials said on Friday that they would not require out-of-network coverage on Affordable Care Act health plans next year, a decision likely to disappoint customers who have complained that they can no longer use their favorite doctors and hospitals.

Restricting consumers to a fixed network of doctors and hospitals, called in-network coverage, helps keep costs down, and for the first year, none of the 16 insurance companies in New York’s exchange deviated from that model.

Advocates for consumers had lobbied hard for out-of-network coverage, saying that some patients needed more choices, particularly since the networks are being kept small to further reduce costs. Under the current in-network system, someone who lives part of the year out of state, or a student at a college out of state, are not covered while they are away, except for emergency care.

The limitation affects people who buy individual or family coverage on the health exchanges, not those insured through employers, who often have the option of seeing out-of-network doctors if they pay higher fees. More than 350,000 people have signed up with private insurers on New York’s health exchange, making it one of the most successful exchanges in the country.