The immediate repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, would destabilize the insurance market, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana President Dr. I. Steven Udvarhelyi tells the USA Today Network of Louisiana.
Though Blue Cross lost more than $200 million during the last three years in the ACA segment of the company’s business, the company recommends a “carefully planned transition” for the health insurance law over a three-year period, the news network reports.
Udvarhelyi says he has communicated his concerns to Louisiana’s congressional delegation about an immediate repeal of the law.
His two biggest worries are the possibility Congress will eliminate reimbursements for subsidies provided by companies to low-income customers to help with premiums and out-of-pocket expenses and the possible diversion of payments designed to mitigate costs to insurers for guaranteeing coverage even to those who are very sick.
Udvarhelyi says more than 131,000 Louisianans receive subsidies to be able to afford insurance now. Congress had required companies to provide the subsidies. The White House has reimbursed companies for those expenses, but Republicans have sued to stop the practice and it seems unlikely to continue under President-elect Donald Trump.
That would further reduce the number of companies participating, Udvarhelyi predicts.
“Many companies have already exited the individual market,” he says. “If we get a rapid repeal and financial penalties to the insurers I think you’ll see a lot more companies drop out in 2018. It’s not a sustainable model.”
