Health insurers have been making it big in the news as of late. From premium hikes to departures from state Affordable Care Act exchanges, announcements from payers have been plentiful.
Here are five things to know about the goings-on in the world of health insurance and the 2017 ACA exchanges.
1. Some health insurers are losing big on the ACA exchanges. Aetna reported first quarter net income of $726.6 million, down from $777.5 million during the same period last year. Anthem said net income fell 18.7 percent in the first quarter to $703 million, down from $865.2 million in the same period last year, and Cigna's net income fell 2.6 percent between the first quarter of 2015 and the first period of 2016. Humana's first quarter net income was down 46 percent, which the insurer attributed to higher costs on individual plans. In the same vein, Humana credited its losses to new ACA members using more medical services than its 2015 members who renewed their plans for 2016.
2. ACA losses are prompting health insurers to amp up premium rates. In addition to losses on the ACA exchanges, insurers have been raising their premium rates for a variety of reasons, one of which is higher-than-predicted healthcare costs. Others are hiking up rates because they're anticipating taking the former enrollees of insurers who've dropped the ACA exchanges.
Regardless of why, premiums are no doubt on the incline. From 2015 to 2016, ACA premium prices rose an average of 8 percent, and they're only expected to rise more in 2017. Though rates still have to be approved by regulators, some insurers are setting hefty increases. For instance, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to raise premium rates in Iowa by between 38 and 43 percent next year, and Humana is asking regulators for a premium increase of 50 percent in one of its Michigan markets.
3. Certain insurers, including UnitedHealth, plan to leave the ACA exchanges. UnitedHealth Group sells ACA plans in 34 states, but it recently said it will exit New Jersey's ACA marketplace in 2017, which Bloomberg claims marks the 27th state it's dropped. Other states in which it won't offer coverage next year include Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland and Indiana. The departures follow UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley's April announcement that the insurer will only remain in a "handful" of states in 2017.
4. Humana is also planning to exit certain ACA markets. In early May, Humana — which currently sells plans in 15 states — said it was mulling over raising premiums and pulling out of the exchanges in certain states. Less than a week later, it announced plans to exit the exchanges in Alabama and Virginia in 2017 due to financial losses. Shortly thereafter, Humana said it's going to stop offering individual plans in Kansas and Wisconsin as well.
5. Other insurers — like Aetna — have no intention of leaving the marketplace any time soon. Despite reporting a 6.5 percent decrease in first quarter net income, during a first quarter earnings call, CEO Mark Bertolini said Aetna considered the ACA exchanges a "good investment."
What's more, Aetna will keep offering ACA plans in 15 states in 2017 — and potentially add even more markets to the mix. Company spokesman T.J. Crawford said Aetna has "no plans at this point to withdraw from [any of the states in which it has submitted proposed rates]." He added that the insurer has "preserved [its] options to enter certain new geographies pending careful evaluation of marketplace conditions," though it has "not made any final decisions on where [it] might enter new [ACA] states."