Health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska said it will leave the state's Affordable Care Act exchange effective Jan. 1, citing instability and decreased competition under the health law.
The Omaha, Neb.-based insurer said it lost about $140 million on its individual ACA plans since the payer began selling them three years ago.
"We have a responsibility to all our members to remain stable and secure, and that responsibility will be at risk if we continue to sustain losses due to our participation in the ACA marketplace," the insurer wrote said in a prepared statement.
The decision affects specific individual plans only. No Medicare supplement or group plans will be affected. The insurer said it will notify affected members by Oct. 1 via mail.
BCBS of Nebraska said it will consider reentering the state's exchange in 2018 if the market stabilizes.
Only two insurers — Minnetonka, Minn.-based Medica and Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna — will sell individual, on-exchange health plans in Nebraska next year. They will increase their premium rates by 38.1 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively.
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