Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Humana First Insurer To Quit ACA Marketplaces Amid Uncertainty Of Health Law's Future
Humana announced on Tuesday that it would no longer offer health insurance coverage in the state marketplaces created under the federal health care law, becoming the first major insurer to cast a no-confidence vote over selling individual plans on the public exchanges for 2018. President Trump immediately seized on the company鈥檚 decision as evidence that the Affordable Care Act needed to be repealed and replaced. 鈥淥bamacare continues to fail,鈥 he said on Twitter. (Abelson, 2/14)
The company attributed its action to mounting losses caused by sicker-than-expected consumers. It is the first major insurer to pull back completely amid the mounting uncertainty over the GOP鈥檚 still undefined healthcare plans, though other leading health plans have exited聽marketplaces over the last year, citing losses. Humana鈥檚 move will also聽probably mean that some 150,000 policy holders in 11 states where Humana sells Obamacare plans will have to switch carriers in 2018;聽some may be left without any alternative.聽(Levey and Petersen, 2/14)
The decision came after Humana scaled back participation and raised premiums, among other changes. "All of these actions were taken with the expectation that the company鈥檚 Individual Commercial business would stabilize to the point where the company could continue to participate in the program," the company said in a statement. (Hellmann, 2/14)
The decision makes Humana the first major insurer to fully exit Obamacare amid uncertainty about the GOP's undefined health care plans. Other major insurers said they could also withdraw from Obamacare marketplaces next year if Republicans don't take immediate steps to shore up the law before replacing it. (Cancryn, 2/14)
The insurer said in July that it was reducing its presence in the individual market for 2017. At the time, the company said it was halting almost all sales of individual health insurance off of Obamacare鈥檚 exchanges. Humana said that for 2017 it would offer individual plans in about 156 counties in 11 states, down from 1,351 counties in 19 states a year earlier. (Tracer, 2/14)
The health insurer, which had already withdrawn from many of the markets in which it was participating last year, attributed the full exit to early signs that the marketplaces remain unstable. Other companies, including Anthem and Aetna, have said they are considering a similar retreat from some of the exchanges on which they currently offer plans. (Mershon, 2/14)
Humana said it will continue to service its current policyholders throughout the rest of this year. (Luhby, 2/14)
