The health insurer is banking on a market many payers have found unprofitable: the ACA individual marketplace. Oscar CEO Mario Schlosser told Bloomberg Oscar is meeting revenue and membership goals and getting a better grasp on how much its members’ healthcare costs.
“We feel comfortable that the risk pool will remain comfortable, and that we can roll out the blueprint for expansion that we have in more areas,” he said.
Mr. Schlosser said Oscar will expand into four unnamed markets. He didn’t release more details, as the insurer is working on state regulatory filings. Regulatory filings obtained by Bloomberg show Oscar recently set up a new insurance company in Arizona.
Important to Oscar’s success are its narrow networks with hospital systems, such as its relationship with Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic teamed up with Oscar for a co-branded health plan in June 2017, and the organizations estimate their new health plan holds 15 percent of Cleveland’s health insurance market after enrolling 11,000 members for 2018. Mr. Schlosser said Oscar will pursue these same types of relationships in its new markets.
Oscar posted a profit in the first quarter of 2018, but anticipates a loss for the full year.
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