“Starting in 2017, Humana will only sell individual plans in 11 states, compared with 19 states for this year, the Louisville, Ky.-based insurer said in a release Thursday. The ACA retreat was revealed in a company update to increase its profit estimates for the year.
“The reduction is even starker at a local level. Humana’s individual plans will be offered in “no more than 156 counties” next year, compared with 1,351 counties this year. Humana expects to collect anywhere from $750 million to $1 billion in premiums from its individual ACA plans in 2017, a reduction of almost 80% from the $3.4 billion premiums projected for 2016.
“Humana pre-recorded a $176 million loss on 2016 ACA plans in February, and the insurer added another $208 million in expected losses Thursday…
“Humana, like its for-profit competitor UnitedHealth Group, enrolled many people who were sicker than originally expected. UnitedHealth will participate in no more than three ACA marketplaces for 2017.
“The individual market represents a small fraction of revenue for Humana and UnitedHealth.” Source: Modern Healthcare
