BCBS could raise premiums 18 percent.
North Carolinians Have Few ACA Options for 2017
Nationwide, more and more insurers
are departing the Affordable Care Act state exchange marketplaces, citing
tremendous financial losses from ACA plans. In North Carolina, it has been no
different.
United will no longer offer plans in
77 percent of the state’s counties, and Aetna is withdrawing entirely, a loss
for 39 counties where those plans were offered. One option remains for 80
percent of enrollees, or 480,000 residents: Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Although Cigna is entering the North Carolina exchange, it will only offer
plans to six counties within the Research Triangle Region.
At this writing, Blue Cross and Blue
Shield’s request to hike premiums by 18 percent on average for 2017 plans was
pending. And now that offerings are fewer, North Carolina healthcare costs can
only be expected to continue rising in 2018 and beyond. Not only will Blue
Cross and Blue Shield have a monopoly over the individual insurance market, but
the insurer will also be adding more high-risk members who were previously
covered by United or Aetna.
While many fixes to this problem
must come at the federal level, Forbes contributor
Katherine Restrepo, who covers North Carolina health policy and the ACA, notes
that the state could pursue several options to provide cost relief to
individuals and small businesses: eliminate certificate of need laws, repeal
state health coverage mandates, and expand the scope of direct primary care.
