U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, who published a damning report on the Affordable Care Act’s lack of competition on the 2016 exchanges, issued the following statement regarding news that Humana is all but abandoning the individual market, including the ACA’s exchanges.
“This doesn’t look like a market—it looks like a death spiral. Unfortunately, no one should be shocked at a news dump when the media’s eyes are on Cleveland. This is devastating news for thousands of Americans who will suffer because the Affordable Care Act cannot and will not fulfill its promises of more choice and lower premiums. This is unsustainable and today’s news is further proof that the Affordable Care Act’s days are numbered.”
Background:
Today, Humana announced that it will dramatically reduce the number of counties in which it will offer health insurance plans in the Obamacare-compliant individual market next year. Humana’s announcement follows United’s mass exodus of the ObamaCare exchanges next year.
According to Humana’s announcement today, customers in the individual market will only be able to purchase Humana plans in no more than 156 counties during 2017, down from 1,351 in 2016. This includes all individual market plans offered by Humana, both on and off-exchange plans.
As for on-exchange plans, Humana offers coverage in 313 counties across 15 states this year, according to the Sasse report. This means that for Obamacare customers in 2017, they will have far fewer choices than today. Even if Humana offers on-exchange plans in all remaining 156 counties, it would mean the elimination of at least half of Humana's Obamacare options from the prior year.
“This doesn’t look like a market—it looks like a death spiral. Unfortunately, no one should be shocked at a news dump when the media’s eyes are on Cleveland. This is devastating news for thousands of Americans who will suffer because the Affordable Care Act cannot and will not fulfill its promises of more choice and lower premiums. This is unsustainable and today’s news is further proof that the Affordable Care Act’s days are numbered.”
Background:
Today, Humana announced that it will dramatically reduce the number of counties in which it will offer health insurance plans in the Obamacare-compliant individual market next year. Humana’s announcement follows United’s mass exodus of the ObamaCare exchanges next year.
According to Humana’s announcement today, customers in the individual market will only be able to purchase Humana plans in no more than 156 counties during 2017, down from 1,351 in 2016. This includes all individual market plans offered by Humana, both on and off-exchange plans.
As for on-exchange plans, Humana offers coverage in 313 counties across 15 states this year, according to the Sasse report. This means that for Obamacare customers in 2017, they will have far fewer choices than today. Even if Humana offers on-exchange plans in all remaining 156 counties, it would mean the elimination of at least half of Humana's Obamacare options from the prior year.
Related Files
- Competition and Choice: A Report on the ACA's 2016 Exchanges - Competition and Choice - A Report on the ACA's 2016 Exchanges.pdf (2.5 MBs)