NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee reversed course Tuesday and said it’s willing to offer insurance plans under the federal health exchange in the Knoxville area in 2018.
If the plan is approved by the state, then all counties in Tennessee will have an insurance provider through the marketplace, said Kevin Walters, a spokesman for the state Department of Commerce and Insurance.
There was uncertainty whether 16 counties in the Knoxville area would even be covered next year after all of the insurers pulled out of the federal health exchange in those areas.
Blue Cross announced late last year that it would not be covering people in Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville because of the volatility of the insurance market and after suffering heavy losses as a result of too many older and sick people on plans.
The company suffered losses totaling more than $400 over a three-year period, J.D. Hickey, president and CEO of Blue Cross of Tennessee, said in a letter to Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. However, he said, 2017 performance has improved.
“This is welcome news that should give some peace of mind to 34,000 residents in the Knoxville area that they may be able to use their subsidies to buy insurance next year,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, said in a statement. “But if BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee does ultimately offer plans next year it is only a temporary solution - premiums and copays will be higher and there’s no guarantee there will be insurance in the marketplace in 2019, 2020 and beyond.”
The decision comes after the U.S. House passed a bill backed by Republicans that rolls back much of former President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The House bill cuts spending on Medicaid and erases subsidies that some people get to help them buy individual plans and replaces them with tax credits. It also allows insurance companies to charge people more if they’ve let their insurance lapse for more than 63 days in the past year, including those with pre-existing conditions. The Senate still has to pass a bill.
“Again, I want to stress that our openness to this action is in no way a political decision,” Hickey said. Nor, he said, is it a reflection that the company views the market as stable.
His letter appears to be warning that higher rates may be coming.
“Given the potential negative effects of federal legislative and/or regulatory changes, we believe it will be necessary to price-in those downside risks, even at the prospect of a higher-than-average margin for the short term, or until stability can be achieved,” he wrote.
The risks the company faces include the loss of subsidies that help people pay for insurance and the removal of the mandate that everyone get covered, he said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.