The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reports that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, following some other big insurers, might consider leaving the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace in 2017 because of heavy losses.
The insurer estimates that it lost more than $400 million on its ACA policies for 2014 and 2015. Even though BCBSNC raised its rates 32.5 percent this year, CEO Brad Wilson said, that still couldn’t keep the insurer from losing money on its exchange products, the paper reported.
So BCBSNC might decide later this year whether it would be wisest to stop selling ACA policies. “We can’t offer something for sale in this marketplace that we know every time it’s purchased we’re losing money,” Mr. Wilson said during a meeting with the newspaper’s editorial board and editors.
If BCBSNC pulls out of the marketplace in 2017, more than 300,000 people would need new coverage, the paper noted. North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin told the newspaper that BCBSNC will decide on its strategy based on the rate increase that his agency approves for next year.
