Obamacare: Fewer Choices

‘A Major Challenge To The Basic Mechanics Of [Obamacare]’

“Aetna Inc. will withdraw from 11 of the 15 states where it currently offers plans through the Affordable Care Act exchanges, becoming the latest of the major national health insurers to pull back sharply from the law’s signature marketplaces after steep financial losses.” (“Aetna To Drop Some Affordable Care Act Markets,” Wall Street Journal, 8/15/16)

• “Aetna will reduce the number of counties where it sells exchange plans next year to 242 from 778, a dramatic turn that came a few weeks after the insurer said it expected steep losses for the year and would reconsider its participation in the market…”(“Aetna To Drop Some Affordable Care Act Markets,” Wall Street Journal, 8/15/16)

• “Aetna is pulling out of all but four states where it currently sells plans on the Obamacare exchanges for 2017.” (“Aetna Pulling Out Of All But Four State Exchange Markets For 2017,” Politico, 8/15/16)

“Humana will stop marketing Obamacare exchange plans in several states next year and will exit many off-exchange individual markets as well, the company announced today. The decision means the company will only offer individual plans in 156 counties in 11 states, down from 1,351 counties across 19 states this year.” (“Humana Pulling Out Of Many Obamacare Markets,” Politico, 7/21/16)

• “Humana Exits Virginia: Humana (HUM), a small player in Virginia, submitted notice on Friday that it's quitting the state's individual market.” (“Why Anthem Obamacare Premiums Will Soar In Virginia As Humana Bolts,” Investor’s Business Daily, 4/15/16)

“UnitedHealth Group said in April it would liquidate all its Affordable Care Act coverage.” (“Aetna’s Obamacare Shock,” Wall Street Journal, 8/2/16)

• “UnitedHealthcare, the biggest health insurer in the United States, said Tuesday that it plans to exit most of the Affordable Care Act state exchanges where it currently operates by 2017. The health insurer had already indicated that it was dropping coverage of the plans, more commonly known as Obamacare, in Arkansas, Georgia and Michigan. But during a conference call with analysts Tuesday, CEO Stephen Hemsley noted that ‘next year we will remain in only a handful of states.’” (“Unitedhealthcare To Exit Most Obamacare Exchanges,” CNN Money, 4/19/16)

“Anthem Inc. said it is now projecting losses on its Affordable Care Act plans this year, a turnaround for a major insurer that had maintained a relatively optimistic tone about that business…. Anthem Chief Executive Joseph R. Swedish said that the insurer will re-examine its full-on commitment to selling plans on the health law’s exchanges. Anthem will take a “prudent” approach to its future offerings, he said. Anthem has been a major player in the ACA marketplaces, with 923,000 exchange enrollees, and it offers the plans throughout the 14 states where it is a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer.” (“Anthem Projecting Losses On Affordable Care Act Plans This Year,” Wall Street Journal, 7/27/16)

ARIZONA: “Five insurance companies that had offered coverage in the Affordable Care Act marketplace have told state regulators that they will opt out or scale back coverage when the next open season for Affordable Care Act coverage begins Nov. 1. There will still be coverage, but with fewer providers, experts say costs will likely go up ‘much higher in 2017 than they had in the past couple of years.’” (“Cost Of ACA Health Plans To Rise As Insurers Leave Arizona Market,” The Arizona Republic, 8/09/2016)

• “As of last week, five companies in Arizona had announced plans to pull out or pull back: Health Choice, United Healthcare, Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Health Net.” (“Cost Of ACA Health Plans To Rise As Insurers Leave Arizona Market,” The Arizona Republic, 8/09/2016)

• “…puts at least one county, Pinal in Arizona, at risk of having no insurers offering exchange plans in 2017, a circumstance that would present a major challenge to the basic mechanics of the ACA.” (“Aetna To Drop Some Affordable Care Act Markets,” Wall Street Journal, 8/15/16)

• “Stephen Briggs, a spokesman for Arizona’s state insurance regulator, said the state currently has no insurers that have filed to offer exchange plans in Pinal, a county in the Phoenix area. ‘It’s a concern for us,’ he said…”(“Aetna To Drop Some Affordable Care Act Markets,” Wall Street Journal, 8/15/16)

ALASKA & ALABAMA: “The entire states of Alaska and Alabama are expected to have only one insurer on the health law’s signature online marketplaces next year, according to state regulators.” (“Insurance Options Dwindle In Some Rural Regions,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/16/16)

• “Alaska lost a carrier that was struggling to survive in the Northwest. In 2016, Alaska's marketplace had two competitors. One of them, Moda Health, dropped out of the Alaska marketplace in early May, citing ‘significant financial loss’ in the state. This leaves only Premera Blue Cross behind.” (“3 States Are Down To One Obamacare Insurer…” Vox, 5/16/16)

• “Alabama lost two national carriers. Humana and UnitedHealth both recently announced they would leave the state at the end of the year. United's departure was part of the company's national retreat from the Obamacare marketplaces. Humana was a relatively small presence in the Alabama marketplace, covering about 15,000 of the state's 200,000 Obamacare enrollees. The one remaining carrier will be the local Blue Cross Blue Shield plan.” (“3 States Are Down To One Obamacare Insurer…” Vox, 5/16/16)

WYOMING: “Wyoming was a one-carrier state in 2016 — and will likely stay that way next year. Like the two other states, it is only served by a Blue Cross Blue Shield carrier.” (“3 States Are Down To One Obamacare Insurer…” Vox, 5/16/16)

FLASHBACK: The Original Sale

‘What We Will Do Is Ensure Consumers Have More Choices’

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “[W]e are bringing security and stability to millions who have health insurance ... What we will do is ensure consumers have more choices and insurance companies face more competition.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, S. 13891, 12/24/2009)

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): “I am sure every Member of the Senate ... has heard heartbreaking stories from our constituents about health care-stories ... about frustration over the lack of choice and who provides their health insurance ... Well, this bill will, I am happy to say, change that.” (Sen. Shaheen, Congressional Record, S.13737, 12/22/09)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “[W]hat we do with this bill ... We work to reduce cost, we work to expand coverage and increase choice and competition for American consumers.” (Sen. Klobuchar, Congressional Record, S. 13863, 12/23/2009)