According to a number of industry experts and analysts, the marketplaces may just survive.
In under a handful of days into the start of 2017, the Republicans made it clear that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and its health insurance exchanges would be among the first moves of the year.
Some predictions have stated that health insurance companies will start withdrawing from the marketplaces.
The concern is that the instability brought by the Affordable Care Act repeal could make the health insurance exchanges too much of a risk for insurers. However, some analysts have said that it is quite possible that the marketplaces will be able to survive the changes brought to the health care law.
To start, replacing Obamacare is a process that could potentially take years. Throughout this time, there may indeed be a destabilization of the insurance exchanges. As a number of big insurance companies had already stepped out of the markets or had announced their intention to do so, it’s not difficult to believe that a further reduction in stability could send more participants away.
At the same time, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the health insurance exchanges are doomed.
Some policy experts are saying that Republicans will likely provide health insurance companies with incentives to remain in the marketplaces. The health insurer trade organization called America’s Health Insurance Plans has called on Congress to maintain its program funding. More specifically, it wants funds to continue flowing for programs assisting people to be able to afford their health plans at least until the close of next year.
That type of step has the potential to provide the stability the insurance exchanges need to keep up the participation of insurers during the time that the Affordable Care Act is being repealed.
While Donald Trump’s campaign came with the promise to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, policy experts are saying that this may be far easier said than done. The health insurance exchanges may not be dismantled in the way many are expecting. Moreover, insurance companies may be given a reason to hang in there for at least another couple of years.
