BCBS, Cigna among insurer groups to meet with Trump on Monday

[February 25, 2017]  By Caroline Humer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents insurers in every state, Cigna Corp and Humana Inc said on Friday they would attend a meeting between the health insurance industry and President Donald Trump on Monday.

Cigna's chief executive officer, David Cordani, and Humana CEO Bruce Broussard will attend, spokesmen for both companies said.

Bloomberg reported earlier on Friday that top executives from U.S. health insurers would attend a meeting, based on unnamed sources. The White House has not confirmed the Bloomberg report.

Trump has pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare, former President Barack Obama's national healthcare law that redesigned the U.S. insurance market for individuals. It is not clear yet what Republicans will agree upon to replace the current insurance. Insurers say any new plans are not likely to hit the market before 2019.

Insurers have also asked for changes to the individual insurance market that would go into effect for 2018 to make the market more attractive to the industry, where some plans have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because member costs were higher than they expected.

President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S. February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The Trump administration proposed a rule last week to address some insurer concerns, but insurers would also like to see the elimination of an industry-wide tax on health insurance premiums - though the tax is on hiatus this year - and a promise that the government will continue to provide cost-sharing subsidies to certain individual insurance members.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has held a series of White House meetings with executives from different sectors including those from manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical makers, technology businesses and car makers.

(Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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