Everywhere you look insurers are running from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), losing money right and left as state exchanges close or come under increased scrutiny.
Certainly there are good reasons that some insurers have lost money in some places. In California, though, it is another story entirely.
Blue Shield of California booked profits of $107 million in 2014 to lead the nation. Kaiser Permanente was 2nd, notching a $66 million profit in California. Anthem Blue Cross also made money in the state, though not in the ballpark with the others, netting $9 million.
Sadly, for them, under the terms of the ACA, companies that make money have to cough it up to help cover the losses of the losers, and there are a lot of losers. All told, insurers lost about $2.5 billion providing policies under the ACA in 2014.
So, why did insurers do so well in California? A huge pool of people to insure certainly helped. It also doesn’t hurt that California skews younger and healthier than much of the country. “Federal data show California has the healthiest risk pool of all 50 states,” Mike Beuoy, a Blue Shield vice president told the Los Angeles Times.
