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U.S. health insurance company executives have arrived at their industry's 2018 annual meeting with pretty good current earnings and utter confusion about how the federal government will do things in 2019.
America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the health insurance industry's biggest trade group, put a session track on "navigating uncertainty" on the agenda for its AHIP Institute event, which started Wednesday in San Diego.
AHIP has been working in Washington to try to stabilize the regulatory environment. The group has, for example, been trying to shore up public support for the group health tax exclusion, and for efforts to keep the Trump administration's new association health plan (AHP) program from hurting AHP employer members, the employers' employees, or providers of fully insured major medical insurance.
But most of the AHIP Institute sessions, and speakers, have been focusing on factors that health insurers can control, even without a stable regulatory environment, such as upgrading their information technology systems, and improving efforts to get enrollees to eat better, exercise more, and cut down on use of harmful substances.
(Related: Cigna CEO Set to Lead AHIP in 2019)
