Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Official: Humana Becomes Third Insurer To Leave AHIP
Humana has ended its membership with the health insurance industry鈥檚 largest trade group, America鈥檚 Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). According to a Humana spokesman, the formal termination happened Dec. 31, but he said the company 鈥渉as not actively participated in AHIP since early 2017.鈥 (Weixel, 1/10)
Kristine Grow of AHIP said while Humana scaled back its "engagement with our activities" in 2017, the association understands Humana's move was a "business decision" rather than based on policy disagreements. Insurers trod cautiously in their public statements and lobbying efforts last year as the GOP-led Congress repeatedly tried to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. Grow said despite the uncertainty, AHIP grew by 12 members over the last year and saw its $2.3 million in revenue losses following the exits of Aetna and UnitedHealthcare in early 2016 turn to $1.2 million in profit. (Luthi, 1/10)