Despite doomsday rhetoric, Obamacare markets are stabilizing
First quarter results suggest insurers are on a path to profitability.
By PAUL DEMKO 07/13/2017 05:16 AM EDT Updated 07/12/2017 04:23 PM EDT
“Obamacare is dead,” President Donald Trump frequently declares.
But reports of its demise appear to be premature. For the first time ever this year, insurers selling plans in Obamacare’s markets appear to be on a path toward profitability. And despite the drumbeat of headlines about fleeing insurers, only about 25,000 Obamacare customers live in communities facing the prospect of having no insurer next year.
Insurers in the Obamacare marketplaces spent 75 percent of premiums on medical claims in this year's first quarter, an indication the market is stabilizing and insurers are regaining profitability, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study released this week. By comparison, in the prior two years, insurers spent more than 85 percent of premiums on medical costs during the same period, which translated into huge losses.
“We’re not seeing any evidence of a death spiral or a market collapse,” said Cynthia Cox, Kaiser’s associate director of health reform and private insurance. “Rather, what it looks like is insurers are on track to have their best year since the Affordable Care Act began.”
The financial results are only for the first quarter, and there are still plenty of problems with the markets: Just 141 insurers submitted plans to sell on the exchange market for next year — a nearly 40 percent decrease from this year, HHS said this week. And there are 38 counties nationwide where no insurer has filed any plans to sell for 2018, potentially leaving 25,000 individuals with no coverage options. In addition, insurers in many states are once again seeking eye-popping premium increases, often exceeding 20 percent.
more
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/13/obamacare-markets-health-care-240487
= new reply since forum marked as read
