Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rural Regions In Nevada May Be Left With No Options For 2018 As Anthem Pulls Back Offerings
The Wall Street Journal: Anthem Pulling Back On Offering ACA Plans In Nevada
Anthem Inc. said it would stop selling Affordable Care Act marketplace plans in most of Nevada next year. The move together with the departure of a smaller insurer leaves 14 of the state’s counties poised to have no insurer on its exchange. (Wilde Mathews, 6/28)
Bloomberg: Anthem’s Exit Creates Obamacare ‘Crisis’ For Rural Nevadans
Anthem Inc.’s decision to quit offering Obamacare plans in much of Nevada will leave large parts of the state without options on the health law’s exchanges. The health insurer, a one-time Obamacare stalwart, has accelerated its retreat in recent weeks, blaming in part the uncertainty about the fate of the health law in Washington for making it difficult to come up with plans and calculate premiums. In Nevada, officials including Republican governor Brian Sandoval called the situation a crisis on Wednesday. (Tracer and Recht, 6/28)
In related news —
KCUR: Health Care Uncertainty Leaves Many Missouri Counties Without ACA Marketplace Coverage
Insurance is all about predicting the future, so with the future of the Affordable Care Act in flux, uncertainty about what’s going to happen has made 2017 a tricky year for insurance companies. “Oh, it’s tough, because businesses don’t plan backwards. They plan forwards. They want to think about what the business is going to look like next year and two years out and three years out,” says Timothy McBride, a health economist at Washington University in Saint Louis. (Smith, 6/29)
Meanwhile, a report finds that the Senate bill wouldn't offer much help to the individual marketplace —
Modern Healthcare: Senate Healthcare Bill Will Hurt Individual Market In The Long Run
Senate Republicans' healthcare bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would bolster the dwindling individual insurance market in the short term, but eventually cause enrollment to plummet, according to a report by ratings agency S&P Global. The Senate bill eliminates the financial penalty for individuals who don't purchase health insurance. Instead, the Better Care Reconciliation Act replaces the fine with a six-month waiting period that's unlikely to keep people enrolled, S&P analysts said. (Livingston, 6/28)
The Oregonian: Oregon Uninsured Rate Would Triple Under Senate Health Care Plan
An estimated 420,000 Oregonians would lose their health care coverage by 2026 -- mostly due to Medicaid cuts -- if the Senate health care bill becomes law, according to a new state analysis. Republican boosters of the Senate plan say the bill is desperately needed to prop up an increasingly unstable insurance market. State officials argue the opposite -- that the estimated 150,000 Oregonians predicted to drop out of the individual insurance market over the next two years could plunge the market into a "death spiral." (Manning, 6/28)
