This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
University of Utah Health Plans intends to sell insurance on the Obamacare online marketplace in all 29 counties in 2018, giving all Utahns the option of getting coverage through the exchange.
The company's plans were available in 16 counties last year, but CEO Chad Westover said Friday that it has filed to serve all of Utah because the move "allows us to get a better mix of the population."
Federal health officials projected in June that residents in 47 counties nationwide won't be offered plans through the exchange as insurers drop out of some areas.
The other two carriers that sold insurance to Utahns on the exchange for this year — SelectHealth and Molina — would not provide information about their 2018 planned coverage areas to The Salt Lake Tribune.
But with U. Health Plans' June 15 filing to sell statewide, it appears Utahns will not face gaps in the exchange in 2018.
And if SelectHealth continues to offer plans in all 29 counties, as it did this year, all Utahns will have access to at least two insurers.
U. Health Plans' expansion comes as turmoil over health care reform in Washington, D.C., continues to raise questions about what the Affordable Care Act will look like next year. The ACA created online insurance marketplaces that allow consumers to compare prices and networks. They also can qualify for federal tax credits that reduce the overall cost of coverage.
"We don't know, of course, what will happen on the federal level and the uncertainty from the [Trump] administration causes some concern for us," Westover said.
"But to serve all of Utah makes good sense."
Insurers had to file initial plans by June 15 to be included in Utah's online marketplace, and the companies will file initial rate plans with the state Friday.
But the federal government gives them until Aug. 16 to file their rates or back out, and state law stipulates that the information is protected until then, said Steve Gooch, a spokesman for Utah's Insurance Department.
Rates for plans that will be sold in Utah through the portal will be posted on or soon after Aug. 16.
U.S. Senate Republicans are trying to push a measure through the chamber that is estimated to leave 22 million more Americans uninsured in 2026 than under the ACA. The GOP proposal would roll back Medicaid expansions and make cuts to the existing program, while also reducing taxes for the wealthy.
Senate Republican leaders have delayed the health care vote until after the July Fourth recess.
What is decided on the federal level could impact plans in Utah for next year, said Jason Stevenson, Utah Health Policy Project education and communications director. He anticipates plan changes could be made up until the August deadline, but generally expects coverage areas to remain the same as this year.
No Utah counties were left without a carrier in 2017, Stevenson said, though 13 had access to only one.
But because of Utah's urban concentration, he added, 95 percent of residents had a choice of two or more insurers. As of March, 176,889 Utahns had purchased coverage on the exchange.
Westover would not share U. Health Plans' expected rate changes for 2018, but said there will be an increase.
The state's Insurance Department instructed companies to set their rates assuming that cost-sharing-reduction subsidies — benefits offered under the ACA to low- and moderate-income residents to help offset their deductible and copay costs — will not be included, Westover said.
This is because President Donald Trump has indicated these subsidies may not be funded, he added.
Under this assumption, companies' rate increases will be much higher than if they assumed the subsidies would be funded, he said.
Insurance Department officials already have warned Utah lawmakers that rates could climb by 20 percent or more for 2018, not including rising health care costs and other factors.
"With the unknown of cost-sharing-reductions funding and the [U.S. Senate's pending] decision on the health reform bill, we have great uncertainty for what insurers will be participating in the market and where rates could land for 2018," Tanji Northrup, assistant commissioner at the Insurance Department, said at a legislative meeting last month.
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