U.S.
government sees 1 million more people on Obamacare
exchanges in 2017
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[October 20, 2016]
By Toni Clarke
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Health and
Human Services Department estimates that 1 million more people will sign
up for health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges for 2017 compared
with 2016, a department official told reporters on Wednesday.
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President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare,
created online exchanges where consumers can shop for individual
health insurance and receive income-based subsidies. The exchanges
opened in 2014 with insurance for sale by major companies including
Aetna Inc and Anthem Inc.
But enrollment has been about half of what was initially expected
and some large insurers this year have said they were losing too
much money on the exchanges because of that and the fact that
enrollees are older and sicker than expected. Aetna and UnitedHealth
Group have largely pulled out of the exchanges for 2017.
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"This is essentially a status quo projection, with expected growth
in enrollment matching what happened this year. That strikes me as
reasonable, not too pessimistic, not too optimistic," Kaiser Family
Foundation healthcare researcher Larry Levitt said.
There is upheaval now as exchanges head into enrollment, he said,
referring to bigger premium increases than in previous years and
insurers exiting the market. Any enrollment growth would be a good
signal to insurers, Levitt added.
The health department said it expects 2017 sign-ups of 13.8 million
people versus 12.7 million for 2016. Average monthly enrollment in
2017 is estimated at 11.4 million people, up from 10.5 million
people in 2016, the official said.
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Separately, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell told
reporters that there are 10.7 million uninsured people who are
eligible for the exchanges but unenrolled, and about 40 percent of
those are young, she said. More enrollees in that group, aged 18 to
34, could help balance out insurer costs because they typically have
lower health costs.
(Additional reporting and writing by Caroline Humer in New York;
Editing by Matthew Lewis and Andrew Hay)
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