S.C.'s Consumers' Choice Health Insurance co-op folds

Modern Healthcare

  • Consumers' Choice Health Insurance Co. of South Carolina has become the ninth insurance cooperative formed under the Affordable Care Act to fold. The co-op said it will not sell policies in 2016, a decision that will leave 67,000 individuals and business customers looking for new coverage. Ray Farmer, director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, said that the company was in a “financially hazardous condition” and that it had been hurt by smaller than expected payments from a provision of the ACA meant to help insurers that incurred higher than expected costs. Consumers' Choice joins cooperatives in Colorado, Kentucky and Tennessee, among other states, that are shutting down for next year.

  • Republicans rammed legislation through the House that would demolish major pillars of President Barack Obama's healthcare law and halt Planned Parenthood's federal payments. The House's near party-line 240-189 approval came after GOP leaders overcame objections by some conservatives—including senators who are also rival GOP presidential contenders—that the measure didn't go far enough. Knowing they lack the votes to prevail in a veto fight, Republicans say forcing Obama to kill the legislation would help them in next year's elections by highlighting their political differences with Democrats for voters. Democrats called the debate a political charade, saying the House has voted 61 times to repeal all or part of Obama's healthcare overhaul since the GOP took control of the chamber in 2011.

  • HealthCare.gov users will have a more streamlined and customized experience when the site reopens Nov. 1. The administration has been working on simplifying how consumers compare plans and their potential out-of-pocket costs. New tools will help consumers see if their doctor is in a plan's network and if their prescription drugs are covered. But the CMS is still combing through data from health insurers and isn't sure the tools will be ready when the new version of the site launches. The agency expects 10 million people will obtain or re-enroll in exchange plans by the end of 2016.
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