One major insurer is not joining other carriers that have pulled out from the Obamacare exchange in Texas as it committed to offer health insurance plans next year.
Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) will continue to provide plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in all 254 counties in 2017, the company said in a recent statement, as reported by
Dallas News.
According to the report, BCBS said it has been working closely with state and federal regulators to finalize participation and offer products both on and off the ACA marketplace in the state.
"We will continue to work with state and federal regulators and legislators to ensure a stable and sustainable insurance marketplace, and to improve the quality and cost of care for all of our members,"
Dallas News quoted BCBS as saying.
The insurer said its specific 2017 plan, network and benefit information will be available closer to the open enrolment beginning on November 1.
Dallas News noted that BCBS serves 603,000 individual policyholders across all counties in Texas, which means that a pull-out would have dealt a real blow to the exchange.
The report said BCBS had requested for steep rate increases, ranging from 57.3 percent to 59.4 percent. The company, however, did not confirm in its statement if the hikes were approved.
Texans have become worried that they will have even fewer and more expensive individual health plan options next year with the increasing number of insurers that have withdrawn from the ACA exchange.
Aetna and UnitedHealthcare have previously announced their exit from federal health insurance market in Texas by 2017.
Oscar Insurance said last month that it would partially leave the state’s ACA exchange, while Texas-based Scott & White also revealed its exit plans for next year.
Cigna, another major insurer, recently disclosed to the
Houston Chronicle that it is in talks with state regulators about a potential pull-out from Texas.
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