Anthem announced Tuesday that it will leave the Obamacare exchange in Ohio next year and reduce its overall participation in the individual marketplace. The move would leave participants in 20 counties without any insurer.
The company cited uncertainty over the future of the law, referring to whether the Trump administration would continue making cost-sharing reduction payments, which allow insurers to offer lower out-of-pocket costs to customers. The company also cited an “increasing lack of overall predictability” as contributing to its decision, likely referring to whether Republicans would succeed in repealing Obamacare and whether it could count on the federal government to enforce the individual mandate that obligates Americans to purchase insurance or pay a fine.
“The current regulatory climate and the uncertainty it has produced in our industry do not give us the clarity and confidence we need to commit to offering broad-based, affordable health plans for 2018,” the company said. “So, while we wait for new regulations to be released, we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the number of Individual health plans we’ll offer next year.”
The company appeared to leave the option open for re-entering the exchange, saying that if cost-sharing payments were paid it would “re-evaluate whether a more robust presence in the exchange is appropriate in the future.” Anthem is the only insurer that sells plans on the exchange, which are tax subsidized, in 20 Ohio counties, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. If another insurer does not offer plans in those counties next year, residents who do not get coverage through the government or through an employer, or do not have a grandmothered or grandfathered plan, could have no health insurance options. In 28 additional counties, Anthem was one of two insurers that sold plans.
Anthem is also the only insurer in other parts of the country, offering coverage to 275,000 people.
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Anthem to exit Ohio's Obamacare exchange https://t.co/OFR80MCjDF pic.twitter.com/6hIDn5Jniq
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 6, 2017
So unexpected. NOT!
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