UnitedHealth to Exit Affordable Care Act Exchanges

Experts say UnitedHealth is largest insurer in U.S., but its exit from ACA exchanges will have only limited impact.

Officials with the nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group, say the company plans to pull-out of insurance exchanges in most of the 34 states where it offers coverage through the Affordable Care Act by next year.

That includes Michigan.

Officials with UnitedHealth estimate the company covers almost 800,000 people through exchanges.

Yet, they add that UnitedHealth expects to lose well over half a billion dollars in the insurance marketplaces this year.

Experts say the company’s exit from the exchanges will have a great impact on states like Oklahoma, where consumers have a limited range of choices for insurance.

But researcher Cynthia Cox with the Kaiser Family Foundation tells WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter, Michigan residents who use the health exchanges will still have viable options for obtaining insurance coverage.

Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.