An Obamacare Ghost Town
Aetna's departure from the health law marketplace in Arizona threatens to leave one county without any options for next year. Meanwhile, America’s Health Insurance Plans has issued a brief with ideas on how to help struggling insurers, and an analysis looks at the groups with the highest uninsured rates.
Politico Pro:
The County Obamacare Forgot
An Arizona county is poised to become an Obamacare ghost town because no insurer wants to sell exchange plans. Aetna’s announcement that it would exit 11 of 15 states where it offers Obamacare plans leaves residents of Pinal County, Ariz., without options for next year, unless regulators scramble to find a carrier to fill the void. Yet they have limited options and little time before plan approval deadlines for 2017 open enrollment. About 9,700 people in Pinal signed up for Obamacare plans this year, according to HHS data. (Pradhan, 8/18)
The CT Mirror:
As Some Quit Exchanges, Insurers Press For Changes In ACA
In an issues brief, the insurance industry association America’s Health Insurance Plans has recently proposed several changes aimed at helping insurers make more profit on the policies sold to individuals and small businesses through the exchanges. ... Insurer recommendations include scrapping a requirement that the oldest – and likely the sickest — customers pay no more than three times the amount in premiums that the youngest policy holders do. ... Another thing insurers would like to change is the ACA minimum medical loss ratio, which caps the revenues insurers can raise from selling policies after claims and certain other expenses are met. (Radelat, 8/19)
Morning Consult:
The Poor, The Young And Latinos Most Likely To Be Uninsured, Analysis Finds
Adults who are poor, young, Latino or work at a small business are most likely to be uninsured, according to an analysis released today by the Commonwealth Fund. Groups that were at risk of not having health insurance before the Affordable Care Act was implemented continue to be at a higher risk of not having coverage under the law, the analysis says. (McIntire, 8/18)
