As Republicans pledge quick change to the ACA, health insurers are amplifying their lobbying efforts in an attempt to keep the individual market from folding — a reality some payers feel could occur with the removal of the ACA's individual mandate, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Some insurers warn a January decision to eliminate the ACA's individual mandate or alleviate federal subsidies on health plans for lower-income Americans would place more pressure on the individual health insurance market. The individual market is already weakened from major insurers exiting because of financial losses, according to the report.
Here are three ways some health insurers are lobbying in light of the potential changes.
1. Jeff Smedsrud, co-founder of HealthCare.com, said he spoke with legislators about considering a different compensation method for payers shouldering the cost of individuals with large claims. Mr. Smedsrud also said permitting tax filers to deduct all health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket healthcare costs more than $1,000 from their federal returns could boost the individual market.
2. If the individual mandate and subsidies are eliminated immediately without replacement changes, health insurers fear they will lose healthy policyholders who level the cost of covering unhealthy customers. "We'd have a difficult time staying in the marketplace with the elimination of subsidies or the elimination of the individual mandate," Kirk Zimmer, executive vice president at Sanford Health Plan, told The Wall Street Journal.
3. J. Mario Molina, MD, CEO of Molina Healthcare, said if the incoming administration moves forward in the wrong way, "we could see a situation where no carrier would want to offer insurance" through the individual market, according to The Wall Street Journal.