Insurers shrink from Obamacare exchanges as lawmakers mull changes

The Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges have become too risky for major health insurers, and that’s creating further doubt about coverage options consumers might have next year.

Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish said Wednesday his company is waiting to see whether the government makes some short-term fixes to the shaky exchanges before it decides how much it will participate next year. The Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier is the nation’s second largest insurer and sells coverage on exchanges in 14 states.

This is a separate and more immediate concern for consumers beyond whether the ACA will continue to exist. Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump have vowed to repeal and replace the law. Republicans have promised they won’t strand those now covered under the program, but they also haven’t detailed their replacement plan.

Even if parts of the law continue to exist in some form, as many expect, the insurance exchanges through which millions have bought coverage are in peril. Swedish told Wall Street analysts during a conference call that if Anthem doesn’t see stability in the exchanges heading into next year, “then we will begin making some very conscious decisions with respect to extracting ourselves.”

The enrollment window for 2018 coverage is still several months away, but insurers have to decide by this spring whether they will participate.

REad the full story at the New York Times: Insurers Shrink From Exchanges as Lawmakers Mull Changes – The New York Times