John Baackes, CEO of L.A. Care, talked to Modern Healthcare about the critical decisions that insurers will have to make in the wake of President Trump's October 12th executive order. The President cut cost-sharing subsidy payments to insurers, which are used by health plans to reduce out-of-pocket costs and co-pays for consumers in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchanges.
While L.A. Care and Covered California already have taken the steps to protect consumers from feeling the brunt of the cuts for 2018, the landscape is uncertain for 2019. In addition, despite California's precautions, Baackes is concerned that the President's decision will discourage the uninsured from seeking coverage.
"I think 2019 is a real tossup depending on how the industry respondes to that executive order," said John Baackes, CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan in Los Angeles.
He's more worried that Trump's CSR decision will be misunderstood by consumers as ending the ACA's premium tax credits, thus discouraging uninsured people from signing up. "People will be confused, and this will dampen enrollment among people who would otherwise consider buying on the exchange," he said.
Read the full article, "Trump Cutting Off Subsidy Payments Poses Tough Decisions for Insurers," by Harris Meyer at Modern Healthcare.
Read Covered California's press release about its efforts to limit consumer impact in 2018.