Health insurers coming off a solid first quarter of Obamacare profits aren’t yet including the Trump administration’s short-term policies or skimpier benefits into their financial outlooks.
Customers from Walmart stores are already driving seniors to the insurer’s Medicare drug benefits and Medicare Advantage plans, Humana chief executive Bruce Broussard said.
Molina Healthcare said first quarter Obamacare profits “exceeded expectations” and the insurer expects projected enrollment to be 50,000 higher for this year than expected for its individual health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats running for Congress and state offices are advocating a public option that allows Americans to buy into Medicare or Medicaid as a choice along side private plans under the Affordable Care Act.
Centene’s Kevin Counihan, the first CEO of Healthcare.gov in the Obama years, now says the individual mandate wasn’t “powerful” and the penalties to get people to buy coverage not high enough to have an impact.