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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDespite doomsday rhetoric, Obamacare markets are stabilizing
First quarter results suggest insurers are on a path to profitability.
By PAUL DEMKO 07/13/2017 05:16 AM EDT Updated 07/12/2017 04:23 PM EDT
Obamacare is dead, President Donald Trump frequently declares.
But reports of its demise appear to be premature. For the first time ever this year, insurers selling plans in Obamacares markets appear to be on a path toward profitability. And despite the drumbeat of headlines about fleeing insurers, only about 25,000 Obamacare customers live in communities facing the prospect of having no insurer next year.
Insurers in the Obamacare marketplaces spent 75 percent of premiums on medical claims in this year's first quarter, an indication the market is stabilizing and insurers are regaining profitability, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study released this week. By comparison, in the prior two years, insurers spent more than 85 percent of premiums on medical costs during the same period, which translated into huge losses.
Were not seeing any evidence of a death spiral or a market collapse, said Cynthia Cox, Kaisers associate director of health reform and private insurance. Rather, what it looks like is insurers are on track to have their best year since the Affordable Care Act began.
The financial results are only for the first quarter, and there are still plenty of problems with the markets: Just 141 insurers submitted plans to sell on the exchange market for next year a nearly 40 percent decrease from this year, HHS said this week. And there are 38 counties nationwide where no insurer has filed any plans to sell for 2018, potentially leaving 25,000 individuals with no coverage options. In addition, insurers in many states are once again seeking eye-popping premium increases, often exceeding 20 percent.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/13/obamacare-markets-health-care-240487
MichMary
(1,714 posts)What is your deductible? How much choice do you have?
My dh will be retiring later this year. For a whopping $1700/month we have a choice of exactly two plans, one of which doesn't cover either of the specialists I see, and the other which covers only one of them.
Great. The insurance companies are making money. But it isn't helping us out very much.
Control-Z
(15,682 posts)MichMary
(1,714 posts)The agent told us that if we lived downstate we would have more choices, but they would be very limited--like just to one hospital. Not helpful.