Health Insurance Broker Emily Bremer Quoted in St. Louis Post Dispatch
Health insurance broker Emily Bremer, of Clayton-based Bremer Conley quoted in St. Louis Post Dispatch on Untied Health dropping individual plan’s in Missouri.
St. Louis Post Dispatch Published on April 20, 2016
To shore up its bottom line, UnitedHealth Group Inc. plans to stop selling next year individual medical insurance plans in Missouri, including those offered through the federal governments health insurance exchange.
There was no information on whether UnitedHealth, the nations largest health insurer, would take similar action in Illinois.
The news comes after the UnitedHealth CEO told investors Tuesday morning that the insurer would only offer exchange health plans in a handful of states after expanding to 34 this year. Specifics on the exact footprint was not provided during a conference call with investors. The insurer cited losses as a reason for exiting the individual exchange business. The online exchanges are a key component of the Affordable Care Act that allows consumers to buy and compare individual health plans online.
UnitedHealth sent a letter, dated April 15, to inform the director of Missouris Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration of the decision to exit the exchange business altogether. “I am providing you with this formal notice of our intention to effectuate an individual market exit effective 1/1/2017 as well as our decision not to participate on the Individual Exchange for 2017,” the letter states.
Current enrollees in UnitedHealths individual insurance plans in Missouri will be notified of the change at least 180 days prior to Jan. 1, according to the letter.
Health insurance broker Emily Bremer, of Clayton-based Bremer Conley, said, “UnitedHealth offered plans with a network that allowed patients to see a broad number of doctors at different area health systems. Its more common to see very limited networks with individual plans,” she said.
The letter says the exit will not affect other UnitedHealth products, such as small and large group insurance plans, sold in the state.
Meanwhile, a UnitedHealthcare spokeswoman declined to say whether the company would exit the Illinois exchange. The Illinois Department of Insurance had no comment, said spokeswoman Allie Bovis.
Read the entire St. Louis Dispatch article here: STLToday.com