UnitedHealth To Exit All But A Few ACA Markets
The insurer's exchange business was relatively small, but the move draws attention to the industry's struggle to adjust to the sicker, more costly pool of customers that have dominated the market under the Affordable Care Act.
The New York Times:
UnitedHealth To Pull Back From Insurance Exchanges, Citing Losses
The UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, told investors on Tuesday that it continued to lose hundreds of millions of dollars selling individual policies under the federal health care law. The company said it planned to pull out of a majority of states where it offered coverage and would offer policies on the public exchanges in “only a handful of states” for 2017. (Abelson, 4/19)
Bloomberg:
UnitedHealth To Exit Obamacare In 16 States To Stem Losses
So far, New York and Nevada have confirmed that UnitedHealth plans to remain on their ACA exchanges next year. The company has also filed plans to participate in Virginia for 2017. Wisconsin said it hasn’t received an exit notice from UnitedHealth, and that it doesn’t comment on insurers’ business plans. A representative of Covered California said plan participation is confidential until it’s announced later this year. (Tracer, 4/19)
The Los Angeles Times:
Nation's Largest Health Insurer To Quit Some Obamacare Markets
Several other insurers, including state Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, have reported similar challenges in recent months. And more than a dozen nonprofit insurance co-ops created through the law have shuttered, as they were overwhelmed by medical claims they couldn’t afford. But other insurers, including California-based Kaiser Permanente and Indiana-based Anthem, another major player in the California market, have been more bullish on the new marketplaces. And in February, Covered California Executive Director Pete Lee blasted UnitedHealth for blaming the health law for its own missteps, noting in an interview with Kaiser Health News that the company had poorly designed and priced its health plans. (Levey, 4/19)