HealthCare.gov, the federal ObamaCare exchange, has just released 2016 ObamaCare plans, and there’s little doubt about which insurer is the most aggressive on premiums to win customers. Centene (NYSE:CNC) will offer the cheapest bronze plan and the two cheapest silver plans in many of the big markets where its Ambetter Health plans compete, trumping Blue Cross, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), Aetna (NYSE:AET) and Cigna (NYSE:CI).
Opponents of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul are taking yet another challenge to the law to the Supreme Court, and say they will be back with more if this one fails. A new appeal being filed Monday by the Pacific Legal Foundation contends the law violates the provision of the Constitution that requires tax-raising bills to originate in the House of Representatives.
In Part I, I showed that the administration’s new estimate of next year’s exchange enrollment is only about half of what prominent groups projected in 2010, and I discussed evidence that exchange plans are not attracting many young, healthy people. This piece shows that the groups also projected far too many unsubsidized enrollees and discusses reasons to be skeptical that the individual mandate will lead as many people to purchase coverage as assumed.
Consumers browsing HealthCare.gov for health insurance ahead of next week’s open-enrollment period will immediately notice a couple of items: a quicker window-shopping experience and many more high-deductible health plan options. The federal government’s exchange website launched its window-shopping feature Sunday, a week before the Affordable Care Act’s third open-enrollment period starts Nov. 1. The CMS touted the retooled site last week, although highly anticipated features such as finding in-network providers and covered prescription drugs won’t immediately be available.