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 Several big insurers, including UnitedHealth Group Inc, Aetna Inc
and Humana Inc, have announced they will pull back from the
Obamacare individual insurance market in 2017, citing financial
losses due to the costs of covering members who are sicker than
expected.
Their planned exit has prompted new questions over whether Obamacare
can survive over the long-term if insurers cannot create a viable
business from the market. Insurance premiums for consumers have
jumped each year since Obamacare plans took effect in 2014, and
those price increases are expected to grow steeper as fewer insurers
participate.
Obama, in a letter to all insurers selling health plans next year on
the exchanges, noted that the program has helped reduce the
percentage of Americans without health insurance to a record low,
and acknowledged that it could still be improved to benefit insurers
and consumers.
His administration will help find and enroll those who still lack
coverage, with a particular focus on enrolling young adults.
"Since the remaining uninsured are disproportionately younger and
healthier, signing them up improves the risk pool and consequently
the affordability of coverage for all enrollees," Obama said in the
letter.
Obama, Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and
other top health advisers on Monday met with executives from several
leading insurance companies, including Cigna Corp Chief Executive
David Cordani and Humana CEO Bruce Broussard, to discuss ways to
strengthen the marketplace ahead of its fourth open enrollment
period, which begins Nov. 1, according to a White House official.
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A spokeswoman for industry group America’s Health Insurance Plans
said the meeting's focus included increasing enrollment.
“As health plans are preparing for open enrollment, today’s meeting
was focused on how to build on the continued progress in reducing
the uninsured rate and moving forward with policy solutions that
will support a stable, affordable market for 2017 and beyond,” AHIP
spokeswoman Clare Krusing said.
(Reporting by Susan Kelly in Chicago)
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