Anthem said Friday it will offer Affordable Care Act exchange plans in the 63 Virginia counties and cities that were at risk of having no choices next year after a smaller regional insurer, Optima, scaled back its expansion.
The upshot: There are officially no more counties with zero ACA options for 2018 (again). But don't read this as a benevolent move by Anthem, which withdrew its ACA plans in Virginia just a month ago. Anthem has made its ACA strategy clear: It will play where it has a monopoly, and leave where there could be competition.
New Mexico Health Connections, a not-for-profit insurance co-op funded through the Affordable Care Act, is a month overdue in filing its second-quarter financial paperwork. And the co-op's most recent documents, as well as federal ACA documents, show potentially large financial problems that could force New Mexico to shut the company down.
Why it matters: It's an ominous sign when a health insurer can't close its books, although a spokeswoman for NMHC said the state granted a filing extension. But the ACA's open enrollment for 2018 is not far away. This also could be another potential black eye for the ACA's co-op program, in which 19 of 23 companies have already gone under.
