As Competition Dwindles On Marketplaces, Federal Officials Face Pressure To Fix Health Law
As insurers cut back on the number of exchanges in which they participate, pressure mounts for the federal government to help stabilize the system so that insurers have reduced risks and offer more plans to help cut costs for consumers.
USA Today:
As Obamacare Choices Dwindle, Feds Face Consumer, Political Backlash
Up to 2.1 million people will likely have to change plans for 2017 due to insurers leaving states' Affordable Care Act marketplaces, up from more than 1.2 million who had to find new insurers last year. That doesn't include the millions who bought new plans because they found a better deal. The new estimates, from data expert Charles Gaba of ACASignups.net, come as another analysis shows five states are expected to have just one company selling insurance on the 2017 Obamacare exchanges. Consumers in most counties in nine other states won't find any competition for their exchange business either, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (O'Donnell, Alltucker, Ungar and Leys, 8/30)
Modern Healthcare:
Changes To Obamacare Exchanges May Be Enough To Keep Them Afloat For Now
Proposed changes to help stabilize the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange markets should be enough to stop the bleeding, but further changes will likely be needed next year. The rule, which was released a couple of months earlier than expected includes changes in 2018 to the ACA risk-adjustment program as well as changes to plan requirements. (Muchmore, 8/30)
US News & World Report:
Why Obamacare Failed To Meet Enrollment Expectations
Six years after its passage, insurers are fleeing from President Barack Obama's health care law, costs for plans are rising, and fewer than half the projected enrollees have signed up for coverage through the program's signature exchanges. But the White House continues to aggressively defend the promise of Obamacare – even when its explanations fall short. (Leonard, 8/30)
The Washington Post:
Obamacare Exchanges Are Shedding Insurer Options In Lots Of Close 2016 States
One of the assets Hillary Clinton has at her disposal as the 2016 campaign hits the home stretch is that she's supported by a fairly popular incumbent president. Granted, most politicians are popular compared to Clinton and Donald Trump, but President Obama's popularity — at or above 50 percent in 17 of the last 20 weeks of Gallup surveys — means that she can position herself as his heir in a way that appeals to enough people to make up a majority of voters. But there's a risk to that strategy. Obama's signature accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare), is having the roughest year of its existence. (Bump, 8/30)
Modern Healthcare:
Senior Democrat Says Republicans Privately Open To ACA Fixes After Election
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said in an interview that she has had a number of private conversations with senior Republicans who have told her they realize the ACA is here to stay and that they can't yank coverage away from the millions of Americans who have benefited. They have told her that “after the election we need to seriously talk about how to improve it.” In those discussions with Republicans, whom she declined to name, they did not offer specific proposals. (Meyer, 8/30)
And in state exchange news —
The Boston Globe:
US Health Law To Cost Massachusetts $162M Over 10 Years, Report Says
Massachusetts will be responsible for at least $162 million in new costs over the next decade to fund the federal expansion of health insurance coverage, according to a new report. The paper from the Pioneer Institute, a free-market-oriented Boston think tank, said that additional spending will squeeze the state budget and divert money from other priorities such as education and transportation. (McCluskey, 8/31)
The Tennessean:
Legislators Spar Over Obamacare Rate Hike
The Tennessee insurance commissioner is under fire from legislators from both parties who are using the recent Obamacare rate approvals as a game of political football highlighting the deeply divided partisan rhetoric in the state about the Affordable Care Act. On Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Yarbro and Rep. John Ray Clemmons, both Democrats of Nashville, called for legislative hearings to investigate whether the premium increases requested by insurers and approved by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance were a political maneuver to destabilize the Obamacare exchange in Tennessee. (Ebert and Fletcher, 8/30)
Sun Sentinel:
Report: S. Florida Counties Among Only 6 Statewide To Be Served By 4 Obamacare Insurers In 2017
As the number of insurers willing to sell health plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace shrinks further in 2017, consumers in the tri-county region will still have choices — unlike in most Florida counties. Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties are among just six counties in Florida that will have a choice of four insurance companies on the Obamacare exchange in 2017, according to projections in a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Hurtibise, 8/30)
