Timing Of Co-Op Failures Creates Extra Layer Of Problems To Already-Bedeviled System
With the latest wave of closures, enrollees' coverage is being disrupted in the middle of the year, which can add extra costs and make it harder to keep the same doctor. Meanwhile, new data show small businesses are less likely to offer health benefits to their employees after the health law was passed.
The Hill:
Frustration Mounts Over ObamaCare Co-Op Failures
A new wave of failures among ObamaCare's nonprofit health insurers is disrupting coverage for thousands of enrollees and raising questions about whether regulators could have acted earlier to head off some of the problems. Four ObamaCare co-ops have failed due to financial problems since the beginning of the year, the latest trouble for the struggling program. (Sullivan, 8/1)
Bloomberg:
Small Employers Pulling Back On Health Benefits Since ACA
Small businesses have been pumping the brakes on offering health benefits to their employees since 2009, according to new data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. “The fact is that small employers were less likely to offer these benefits to begin with,” Paul Fronstin, EBRI's director of health research and education program and author of the report, told Bloomberg BNA July 28. “While the ACA was designed to try to get more small employers to” offer health insurance, “it hasn’t.” (Knebel, 7/29)
In other news, those on Michigan's exchange could see a 17.3 percent rate hike —
Detroit Free Press:
Affordable Care Act Rates May Jump 17.3% In Michigan
Health plans sold on Michigan's insurance exchange could see an average 17.3% increase next year, and if recent history is any guide, state regulators could approve the insurance companies' rate hike requests without many — if any — changes. The rate increases would mean a financial hit for taxpayers in general and the 345,000 Michiganders who buy their health insurance on the Healthcare.gov exchange, created under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. (Reindl, 7/31)
Detroit Free Press:
Quick Facts On Michigan's Obamacare Rate Hike
Many health insurers in Michigan are seeking double-digit rate hikes next year for their individual policies sold on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The average rate increase would be 17.3% if state regulators approve the requests without changes. The new rates would boost the sticker price of the average "silver" plan to $477 a month for a 50-year-old male and nonsmoker. (Reindl, 7/30)
