Georgia Appears To Dodge A Bullet As Blue Cross Doesn’t Signal Plans To Pull Back Operations
In its initial filings with the state, the company says it will continue to sell individual policies in all 159 counties. In other news, a New Hampshire paper reports indications that premiums could go up significantly and California Healthline examines which companies are enticing customers on that exchange.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Blue Cross Blue Shield May Stay In Georgia Obamacare Market
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, the only remaining company to serve all 159 counties in the state, has filed its annual plans for next year’s insurance market exchange under the Affordable Care Act. In its initial filing, it filed plans for the entire state, said spokeswoman Debbie Diamond. The decision can still change. Negotiations between insurers and the state will continue for several months. (Hart, 5/19)
Georgia Health News:
Blue Cross Signals It’s Sticking With Georgia Exchange For ’18
Blue Cross’ parent company, Anthem, had recently indicated that it was leaning toward exiting a high number of regions in the nation next year, according to a research report. If that had included Georgia, it could have created a vacuum in many areas. This year, Blue Cross is the only exchange health insurer in 96 of the 159 counties. (Miller, 5/19)
NH Union Leader:
Obamacare Rate Could See Big Spike In NH Next Year
Some Obamacare exchange premiums could increase an average of 44 percent next year in New Hampshire due in large part to Medicaid expansion and the opioid and mental health crises, according to a document obtained by the New Hampshire Union Leader. The document -- stamped "Confidential" and marked "Draft Only" and "not for distribution" -- hints that New Hampshire soon could be hit with health-care premium increases it has not experienced since Obamacare coverage started in January 2014. Provided by a government official, the document appears to be written by an insurance carrier to explain the expected double-digit increase. (Hayward, 5/20)
California Healthline:
Blue Shield Has Highest Share Of Enrollees In Covered California
Blue Shield of California has the largest number of enrollees in the Covered California health insurance exchange, widening its lead over rivals Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente, according to recently released data. The data, from Covered California, show that Blue Shield had 389,480 enrollees in the exchange as of December 2016, about 31 percent of the market. Anthem was next with 310,690 members, for a 25 percent share. Kaiser Permanente was third with 297,030 exchange enrollees, or 24 percent. Health Net and Molina Healthcare were fourth and fifth, respectively. (Terhune and Bazar, 5/22)
