UnitedHealth Sees Growth After Exiting ACA Markets

UnitedHealth Sees Growth After Exiting ACA Markets

UnitedHealth Group Inc. was very open in its claims that it was impossible to sustain the economics of participating in healthcare exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”)—and thus the company would stop participating. It made good on that vow, and has now reported profit growth in the second quarter and raised its projections for the year, fueled by its Optum health-services arm. The largest insurer in the U.S. UnitedHealth has almost completely …

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Humana Follows United Out the ACA Exit Door

Humana Follows United Out the ACA Exit Door

In advance of formal approval of its merger with Aetna, Humana plans to stop participating in some state insurance exchanges constructed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”). The company says its member base dropped 21% compared with the first quarter of 2015. That includes those who bought policies under the ACA exchanges, which many insurers say are hard on their bottom lines to begin with. UnitedHealth Group was the first major insurer to …

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UnitedHealth Abdicating Almost All ACA Exchanges

UnitedHealth Abdicating Almost All ACA Exchanges

No longer satisfied with revealing states in which it plans to stop offering insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) a few at a time, UnitedHealth Group has acknowledged it will drop out of all but a “handful” of states by the end of this year. Right now, it participates in exchanges in 34 states; the dawn of 2017 will see it offering health coverage in just 12, as now planned. The market …

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UnitedHealth Starts Making Good on Threats to Leave ACA Programs

UnitedHealth Starts Making Good on Threats to Leave ACA Programs

UnitedHealth Group has been saying for months that it may opt to not participate in insurance exchange programs set up under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”). Apparently it was no idle threat, as the biggest insurer in the country says it will not sell plans in Arkansas or Georgia next year. The company has said the ACA plans are not profitable enough to justify their participation. UnitedHealth and Aetna both saw losses on …

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