UnitedHealth's exit won't kill ACA exchanges

UnitedHealth Group Inc. said last week that it will exit nearly all of the 34 states where it sold coverage on health insurance exchanges this year amid slow enrollment growth and an unhealthy population that have dented its profit. It said it expects to lose $650 million this year on exchange busin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inBusiness Insurance Vol. 50; no. 9; p. 4
Main Author Livingston, Shelby
Format Journal Article Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago Crain Communications, Inc 25.04.2016
Crain Communications, Incorporated
Subjects
Corporate finance
Health care policy
Health insurance
Health insurance exchanges
Health maintenance organizations
Insurance companies
Insurance premiums
Laws, regulations and rules
Market exit
Service discontinuation
States
United States
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:UnitedHealth Group Inc. said last week that it will exit nearly all of the 34 states where it sold coverage on health insurance exchanges this year amid slow enrollment growth and an unhealthy population that have dented its profit. It said it expects to lose $650 million this year on exchange business, on top of $475 million it lost last year. The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based insurer will bow out of 2017 exchange offerings that include Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee. UnitedHealth will, however, sell plans on exchanges that include Nevada and Virginia next year, the states' insurance departments confirmed. Even before UnitedHealth's announcement, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis said the exit of the nation's largest health insurer is unlikely to make waves nationwide, and analysts agreed with that conclusion. According to the Kaiser analysis, if UnitedHealth withdrew completely and no insurer replaced it, there would be a "modest" effect on exchange premiums. Most observers expect health insurance premiums to increase next year as health insurers adjust their pricing to respond to the high-risk exchange enrollees.
ISSN:0007-6864
1557-7791