In a statement released on Monday (May 2), Moda Health announced that it will depart from Alaska next year, leaving the state with only one provider in the individual medical marketplace.
The news release noted that Moda will not be filing rates for Alaska’s health insurance market effective January 1, 2017. Currently, Moda serves around 14,000 plan holders in the individual marketplace, who will remain covered until the end of December 2016.
“Moda will focus on making the transition to a new medical carrier in 2017 as convenient as possible,” according to the release, as quoted by Alaska Dispatch News.
The exit will not affect Moda’s other medical and dental policies in Alaska, company officials assured.
“Moda made the decision to exit the Alaska individual Medical market in order to focus on its other lines of business in the state. We remain committed to the overall Alaska market with our group medical and group and individual dental plans,” director of Alaska sales and service Jason Gootee said.
The announcement came after the withdrawal of two other carriers last year. Moda’s retreat will leave Premera Blue Cross as the only provider remaining in the Alaskan market.
Regulators expressed unease over the announcement. As of press time, Alaska’s individual marketplace hosts approximately 23,000 policy holders, with fully three-fourths of this sector having their plans subsidized by federal coffers.
“Obviously this is not good news,” Alaska Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier said after the announcement. “You never want to be without competition -- that’s not good for consumers.”
“But in our case in particular it’s troubling because (companies are) leaving because they’re losing money,” the official added.
