The state, which participates in the federal health plan exchange will include at least three insurers.
This fall, the latest insurance news is showing that when residents of Missouri head to the HealthCare.gov website, they will likely be able to compare and shop for health plans that are being offered by a minimum of three insurers.
The largest insurance company in the country has now stated that it expects to take part in the federal marketplace.
UnitedHealthcare has said that it intends to make insurance news, this fall, by adding its own health plans to the offerings on the federal exchange. The insurance company released a statement that said that it “has filed an individual Qualified Health Plan exchange application, and we look forward to continuing our conversations throughout the approval process and expect to have a competitive product available for Missouri consumers that will be valuable in terms of quality, access, affordability, innovative design and service excellence.”
This insurance news also includes the participation of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Coventry.
These insurance companies have already stated that they will be offering their plans on the federal exchange, which will be starting its open enrollments for next year on November 15. That said, while in Missouri, health insurers have merely been announcing that they will be participating in the exchange, in every other state in the country, they are also revealing to consumers what they intend to charge for the various forms of coverage.
Missouri is the only state in which the health insurance rates for the various plans on the exchange have not been revealed. The reason is that it is one of the only states that does not have a regulation that requires the reviewing of rates for its health plans. Wyoming is in a similar position, except that it does still have the ability to review the rates for HMOs (health maintenance organizations).
The Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance is now making insurance news in its hopes to change the situation in the state. Its executive director, Andrea Routh, explained that while other states have the ability to “sit down” with the insurer and ask whether or not an increase can be justified, this “conversation doesn’t even happen,” within Missouri.
