More ACA Exchange Market Decisions: Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee

June 21, 2017 at 07:29 AM
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Many states asked would-be 2018 individual major medical insurance issuers to file products and rates by Friday, or have set their deadlines for sometime this week.

Here are two market reports compiled by Bloomberg.
 

Anthem to Leave Obamacare Markets in Indiana and Wisconsin

Zachary Tracer

(Bloomberg) — Health insurer Anthem Inc. will pull out of two more state Obamacare markets as it shrinks its participation in the law, the latest such pullout by an insurer as companies finalize their coverage offerings for next year.

Anthem will quit the Affordable Care Act's individual insurance markets in Wisconsin and its home state of Indiana, the company said in a statement Wednesday. It blamed the volatile state of the markets, which have seen many plans come and go, as well as a lack of stability being offered by Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump's administration in Washington.

"Planning and pricing for ACA-compliant health plans has become increasingly difficult due to a shrinking and deteriorating individual market, as well as continual changes and uncertainty in federal operations," the Indianapolis-based company said in the statement. Anthem said earlier this month it would pull out of Ohio's Obamacare market for next year.
 

Oscar to Expand Obamacare Offerings, Enter Tennessee in 2018

John Lauerman and Zachary Tracer

(Bloomberg) — Oscar Insurance Corp. plans to begin selling health plans on the Obamacare marketplace in Tennessee in 2018 and expand its offerings in other states where it's already operating.

Chessboard (Photo: Thinkstock)

(Photo: Thinkstock)

The closely held insurer will expand into new areas of Texas and California, according to a blog post Wednesday by Mario Schlosser, the chief executive officer. The company will also return to the New Jersey market that it earlier dropped.

Insurers that will participate in the health program in some states are expected to send their proposed rates Wednesday, a deadline that was postponed several weeks by the Trump administration to give companies more time. Oscar said it's filing to expand into the Austin market in Texas, and is seeking approval to sell individual and small business plans in east Los Angeles County in 2018.

Oscar, which said last week that it will also enter the Ohio marketplace, is one of a few insurers swimming against the tide as larger companies, including Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc., are fleeing Obamacare's individual marketplaces after suffering losses. Centene Corp. also said last week that it would enter Obamacare markets in Kansas, Missouri and Nevada while expanding in six other states where it already sells plans.

Republicans in Congress are devising legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare, while President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold funds that defray costs for low-income people buying plans through the program. Insurers have cited doubts about the future of the program as they leave markets and raise rates.

"Why seek to expand in a time of uncertainty?" Schlosser said in his post. "We're confident that when the dust settles, the market for health insurance will stabilize in time for 2018.

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