Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Officials Scramble To Woo Insurers Back Into ACA Marketplaces
The Wall Street Journal: Insurer Reverses ACA Exit Plan In One Of Two Washington State Counties
Washington state will have an insurer offering Affordable Care Act plans next year in one of two counties that earlier appeared poised to have no coverage through the health law’s online marketplace. Separately, Medica, a nonprofit insurer, said Monday it made a regulatory filing signaling that it will offer marketplace plans throughout the state of Iowa next year. Iowa had appeared at risk of having no exchange insurers in most, or even all, of its counties in 2018. Medica, which had earlier said it was considering pulling out of Iowa’s marketplace, said in a statement it was seeking an average rate increase of 43.5%. (Wilde Mathews, 6/19)
Seattle Times: Health-Plan Rates In Washington State’s Individual Market Could Go Up An Average Of 22%
Health-insurance rates in Washington’s individual market would increase an average of 22 percent next year based on filings under review by state officials — sparking a new round of partisan finger-pointing. The increases are almost twice the 13.5 percent increase insurers proposed this past year for 2017. Consumer options also would decrease next year for the 300,000 Washingtonians who buy their health coverage in the marketplace for individuals. This year 13 insurers offered 154 plans in Washington’s individual market and nine companies sold plans inside the state exchange created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. (Young, 6/19)
The Hill: Washington State Down To One Bare ObamaCare County
Premera Blue Cross intends to sell plans in a Washington state county that previously looked like it would not have an ObamaCare plan, leaving just one county in the state without an insurer in 2018. Earlier this month, insurance companies filed their rates and their intentions to sell health plans on Washington’s ObamaCare market. When the results came in, two counties were bare. (Roubein, 6/19)
The Associated Press: Medica Weighs Staying In Iowa's Health Exchange Next Year
Iowa's last health care insurer to sell policies to individuals statewide through the federal Affordable Care Act said Monday it needs to know more about how the state's insurance market will function next year before making a final promise to stay. Minnesota-based Medica has preliminary plans to sell insurance in Iowa next year in the individual market and expects to make an announcement soon, spokesman Larry Bussey said. (Pitt, 6/19)
Iowa Public Radio: One Affordable Care Act Insurer Intends To Stay In Iowa
It’s likely Medica will be the only company selling individual ACA-compliant health insurance statewide in Iowa. It’s proposing to increase rates by an average of 43.5 percent. "When you find yourself as the only ones between people getting access to care and people not getting access to care, your view of the situation becomes very different," Medica Vice President Geoff Bartsh said in a written statement. (Sostaric, 6/19)
Des Moines Register: Medica Intends To Stay In Iowa's Health-Insurance Market, At 43% Higher Price
Even after Monday's announcement, Medica still could pull out of the Iowa market, as many experts feared. That could leave no options for up to 72,000 Iowans who now buy their own insurance instead of obtaining it via an employer or government program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. (Leys, 6/19)
Chicago Tribune: Blue Cross Working To Return To Illinois Obamacare Exchange Next Year
Illinois' largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, is taking steps to return to the Obamacare exchange next year despite uncertainty over the fate of the health care law. The news comes as some insurers in other parts of the country pull out of the marketplace for 2018. In Illinois, insurers have until Wednesday to file proposed rates with the Illinois Department of Insurance. Colleen Miller, a spokeswoman for Blue Cross, confirmed Monday the insurer is submitting rates and plans for next year. (Schencker, 6/19)
