The CEO of Connecticut's health insurance exchange is warning that the two remaining insurers offering individual plans could decide to leave Access Health CT this fall.
Jim Wadleigh told Access Health's board of directors Wednesday that "this is a threat knocking on our doors for the next open enrollment," which begins Nov. 1.
The two carriers, Anthem and ConnectiCare, have until Sept. 8 to notify Access Health CT whether they'll still participate. There was a high of four insurers in 2015. Insurers have expressed concerns about remaining financially sustainable in Connecticut.
Wadleigh said coverage for current Access Health CT customers will remain unchanged through December, no matter what happens in Washington.
There's concern the federal government might stop billions of dollars in payments to insurers.
Wadleigh said a recent report by the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center described what could be at stake in Connecticut. In part, it found that in New Haven and Waterbury, the number of uninsured residents under age 65 would be nearly twice as high without the ACA. Bridgeport’s uninsured rate for nonelderly residents would be more than 50 percent higher and Hartford’s would be more than 60 percent higher.
