Anthem Pulling Back on Offering ACA Plans in Nevada
29 June 2017 - 8:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Wilde Mathews
Anthem Inc. said it would stop selling Affordable Care Act
marketplace plans in most of Nevada next year, leaving 14 counties
in the state poised to have no insurer selling plans on its
exchange.
The state exchange agency, the Silver State Health Insurance
Exchange, said that insurers had filed to offer plans in only three
Nevada counties: Clark, Washoe and Nye, leaving the remaining,
largely rural counties without any exchange options for 2018.
Nevada's Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, said "lack of
coverage in rural Nevada will set back years of work to reduce the
uninsured rate throughout our state, " affecting around 8,000
people, and his office was trying to find a solution to help ACA
enrollees in the those counties.
Anthem's pullback in Nevada follows announcements that it will
completely exit the ACA marketplaces in Ohio, Wisconsin and
Indiana.
The 14 Nevada counties join an estimated 47 counties in Ohio,
Indiana and Missouri that currently appear at risk of having no
exchange insurers in 2018, according to the Kaiser Family
Foundation, after withdrawal announcements made by insurers. Still,
the situation remains fluid, since other insurers may come in to
fill the gaps, as has happened in Tennessee and Washington
state.
Anthem's latest announcement comes as Senate Republicans are
trying to push forward a health overhaul, and insurer exits and
rate-increase proposals have become flashpoints in the debate over
the bill. Republicans point to them as backing the need for their
legislation, while Democrats say the insurers are reacting to the
uncertainty created by Republicans -- including questions about the
future of key federal payments to insurers that the Trump
administration has threatened to stop.
Nevada's situation may draw more of the spotlight because its
Republican Sen. Dean Heller has said he opposes the Senate bill,
which is now being reworked.
Echoing comments it previously made around other withdrawals,
Anthem said its Nevada decision came as the "individual market
remains volatile." The company said that "planning and pricing for
ACA-compliant health plans has become increasingly difficult due to
a shrinking and deteriorating individual market, as well as
continual changes and uncertainty in federal operations, rules and
guidance, including cost-sharing reduction subsidies." Anthem also
said it was "pleased that some steps have been taken to address the
long-term challenges all health plans serving the Individual market
are facing."
The insurer is a major presence in its 14 state exchanges, with
nearly 1.6 million people enrolled in its ACA plans, 1.1 million of
those bought through the marketplaces. Overall, 302 counties in
states including Georgia, Missouri and Ohio currently have only
Anthem plans available in their marketplaces, according to the
Kaiser foundation. So far, the insurer has filed 2018 ACA plans
with regulators in other states, including Virginia, Maine and
Connecticut. Anthem has said it is evaluating its ACA plans on a
state-by-state basis.
Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 28, 2017 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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