Anthem says it isn’t pulling plans from Colorado’s individual health insurance market

Anthem s HMO Colorado clarified Thursday that it doesn t plan to pull large numbers of plans from the individual vitality insurance sector but stated the state s tardiness in approving rates forced the insurer to notify regulators it could On Aug the Colorado Division of Insurance revealed people might need to find new insurance plans Anthem had notified the state it could drop plans covering about people or roughly two-thirds of its individual sphere customers and Rocky Mountain HMO announced it could end plans covering about people the division noted About people in Colorado enrolled in marketplace plans this year Analysts expect enrollment to be lower next year when higher subsidies put in place during the pandemic end On its website Anthem stated it gave notice about possibly withdrawing plans because the state hadn t approved rates in August as it usually does That created uncertainty about whether selected plans would be financially unviable the company noted Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway countered that the rates aren t typically ready by that point so a delay doesn t explain Anthem s decision The division notified insurers it wouldn t finalize rates until late September because lawmakers were going to try to stabilize the individual domain during the special session that concluded this week he commented That angle from Anthem just isn t accurate he stated Lawmakers passed a bill with two provisions that will blunt premium increases meaning the rates insurers submitted earlier this year no longer need to rise as much Conway disclosed Colorado requires medical insurers to submit proposed rates for their plans in June each year then spends the next limited months determining if the requested rates are necessary to keep the plans financially stable without generating excessive profits Insurance companies have to file a notice by Aug if they could drop a plan though the notice doesn t obligate them to follow through Anthem mentioned it didn t intend to definitely end any plans assuming the division approves financially sustainable rates In any occurrence the insurer commented it wouldn t leave counties that lacked other options on the individual marketplace It is critical we propose financially sustainable rates in order for Anthem to cover the cost of care for our members in the company commented Rocky Mountain HMO didn t respond to questions about whether it intends to drop the plans included in its notice The division previously estimated premiums would rise by an average of next year Lawmakers voted earlier this week to kick in million drawing down about million in federal matching funds to backstop insurers Conway announced The money will limit how much insurers could have to pay and consequently how much they can charge customers The division estimated that the fund will lower the average increase to about he mentioned Related Articles Denver Soundness expects to lose as much from Medicaid changes as it gets from new sales tax Coloradans could need new wellness insurance as Rocky Mountain HMO Anthem pull back Colorado lawmakers push for pause on wolf reintroduction in new bill for special session No changes to routine vaccines but pregnant women might have to pay for COVID shots Tax breaks for the rich have negative impact on housing industry Letters The additional million from the legislature will allow the state to partially replace the expiring subsidies for customers earning less than four times the poverty line with an emphasis on people with lower incomes Conway stated The division is still sorting out how that will affect overall premiums but thinks it will encourage more than people to stay in the individual industry Generally healthier people are the first to drop insurance coverage when it gets more expensive which forces premiums to rise further as fewer people share the costs of covering those who are sicker Keeping particular of those people in the sector will help blunt the increases in premiums to particular extent he disclosed We re modeling out exactly what we think we can achieve he disclosed Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get healthcare news sent straight to your inbox