The insurance giant is planning to compete in just Nevada, New York and Virginia in 2017.
By Christopher Snowbeck Star Tribune
The extent of UnitedHealthcare’s exit from the nation’s health insurance exchanges became clearer Wednesday as the company said it plans to compete in government-run marketplaces for just three states next year.
Currently, United competes on the exchanges for 34 states but is retreating due to large financial losses.
United signaled late last year that a pullback was coming and updated the commentary in April by saying the insurer would remain in just a “handful” of states.
On Wednesday, a United spokesman confirmed the insurer plans to compete again next year only on the exchanges in Nevada, New York and Virginia, suggesting the company won’t be back in 31 other states.
“The individual on-exchange products filed for 2017 … may not be available in all service areas within the states referenced,” the insurer said in a notice posted to a website for brokers.
The exchanges are an option for individuals and families to obtain health insurance outside of employer groups and government programs. The online marketplaces were launched under the federal Affordable Care Act, which requires almost all Americans to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.
UnitedHealthcare never sold policies through Minnesota’s MNsure exchange, but the insurer is an option for exchange shoppers in the neighboring states of Iowa and Wisconsin.
One carrier leaving so many state markets isn’t necessarily a huge deal in isolation, since in most cases consumers will still have choices, said Robert Laszewski, a health care consultant in Virginia. But United’s actions point to broader problems with the exchanges, Laszewski said, including financial losses for carriers, rising premiums for consumers and many potential subscribers opting out of coverage.
“If you look at in the broader sense,
But Cynthia Cox, a researcher with the Kaiser Family Foundation, said she sees United’s moves as a response to its own difficult experience on the exchanges, rather than a statement about the overall health of the government-run marketplaces.
Cox noted that United’s independent subsidiary Harken Health will continue in Georgia and Illinois, while expanding to Florida, and suggested the insurer might simply be experimenting with a new strategy.
“It doesn’t seem like other insurance companies are following suit,” she said. “Some other insurers have found ways to be profitable on the exchanges, or at least have had better financial outcomes than United did.”
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