Here are five things to know.
1. U.S. insurers recommend more state control over insurance as the federal oversight of the ACA is dismantled, according to the report.
2. U.S. insurers are also advocating to keep government subsidies for low-income people, as well as cost-sharing subsidies, the report notes. This is already part of an alternative ACA plan unveiled this week by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La. Under the plan, states would be able to reinstate Title I of the ACA and continue to receive premium tax credits, cost-sharing subsidies and Medicaid funding from the federal government.
3. Insurers seek to save features of individual plans, but decrease the risk to their own bottom lines and any premium increases that put the viability of the individual insurance market in jeopardy, according to the report. The report notes that the individual insurance market covers about 10 million people, compared to the employer-based system that covers more than 160 million Americans and government programs for more than 120 million people.
4. Insurers describe the individual insurance market as having growth potential, reports Reuters. In fact, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group recently told investors it sees opportunities in new state-based markets and is in discussions with policymakers, according to the report.
5. Daniel Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross in Pennsylvania, told Reuters he supports tightening the rules around insurance enrollment outside of the open enrollment period, along with more control over which third parties are allowed to pay premiums for patients. Independence also seeks a larger role in signing up new customers who want to buy individual plans, according to the report.
For more on this story, read Caroline Humer and Susan Cornwell’s full report in Reuters.
