Connecticut faces negative repercussions from threats to the Affordable Care Act and from the possible loss of the two remaining insurance companies on the state’s health insurance exchange, Access Health CT CEO James Wadleigh said today.
The threat of the exchange losing its carriers “is a threat knocking on our doors for the next open enrollment,” Wadleigh told Access Health CT’s board, adding that there’s a chance the carriers could leave the individual market on the exchange next month.
Sept. 6 is the last day for Connecticut carriers to notify Access Health CT if they plan to not participate on the exchange, he said. The two carriers remaining on the exchange are Anthem and ConnectiCare.
If they were to depart, “This would have a dramatic impact on our state budget, our healthcare system and most important, the people we serve,” Wadleigh said.
There would be a shift in cost allocation from the exchange to the state of close to $20 million in the first year alone and the state’s healthcare system could see an increase in uncompensated care (more visits to emergency room) and a potential decrease in organizational productivity due to employees getting or staying sick, he said.
In the last open enrollment, Access Health CT enrolled more than 111,000 individuals in private healthcare coverage, which those individuals might not be able to buy or afford if they didn’t get it through the exchange, Wadleigh said.
Of threats to the ACA, he noted Connecticut’s uninsured rate has fallen more than 50 percent in four years to an historical low of 3.5 percent. He cited a recent report by the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center saying Connecticut’s number of uninsured residents under age 65 would surge without the ACA, adversely affecting groups that include blacks, Latinos, women and young adults.
Wadleigh reminded Access Health CT customers that despite the uncertainty in Washington, current healthcare coverage will remain the same through Dec. 31.
