Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Serious Losses On Marketplaces, Some Insurers Likely To Sharply Raise Premiums
Health insurance companies are laying the groundwork for substantial increases in ObamaCare premiums, opening up a line of attack for Republicans in a presidential election year. Many insurers have been losing money on the ObamaCare marketplaces, in part because they set their premiums too low when the plans started in 2014. The companies are now expected to seek substantial price increases. (Sullivan, 4/25)
Another bombshell could soon drop on the Affordable Care Act insurance exchange market, and it might come at a highly vulnerable moment for Obamacare. Rosemary Collyer, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia, is expected to soon issue her ruling in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, a case in which House Republicans claim the Obama administration is illegally funding the ACA's cost-sharing subsidies without a congressional appropriation. If, as some legal observers believe is possible or even likely, the George W. Bush-nominated Collyer decides against the administration, it would further rattle insurers who are facing multiple difficulties in the exchange business. (Meyer, 4/22)
Iowans who want to buy subsidized health insurance under the Affordable Care Act will no longer be able to choose a policy from the country’s largest carrier, but they can switch to the state's main health insurer for the first time. UnitedHealthcare will no longer sell individual health insurance policies in Iowa, the state insurance division announced Monday. ... In Iowa, UnitedHealthcare’s withdrawal could be offset by the entry of the state’s dominant health insurance carrier, Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Wellmark previously has declined to sell policies on the Obamacare exchanges, but spokeswoman Traci McBee confirmed Monday that it will sell policies there for 2017. (Leys, 4/25)
UnitedHealth Group Inc. will pull out of Kentucky’s individual marketplace for Obamacare plans, bringing to 26 the number of states the health insurer is quitting next year. The company plans to halt sales of individual plans in Kentucky for 2017, both inside and outside the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange, as well as the small-business exchange, UnitedHealth said in a letter to the state’s insurance department. (Tracer, 4/25)
UnitedHealthcare’s decision to quit insurance exchanges in about 30 states next year has patient advocates concerned that fewer options could force consumers to pay more for coverage and have a smaller choice of network providers. The company’s departure could be felt most acutely in several counties in Florida, Oklahoma, Kansas, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee that could be left with only one insurer, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) (Galewitz, 4/26)
California legislators are attempting to clear the way for undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through the state’s insurance exchange — potentially setting a national precedent. The fusion of illegal immigration and the Affordable Care Act, two of the most highly charged elements on the periodic table of U.S. politics, could engender a combustible reaction, especially in an election year. (Ibarra, 4/26)
