By joining the group, Obama hoped to “underscore the importance of continuing the work that has helped bring the insured rate to the lowest level on record” as well as to solicit ideas on “how to strengthen the marketplace”, a White House official said.
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Administration officials have met with marketplace health plan leaders each year ahead of open enrollment, which this year starts November 1.
“And since the remaining uninsured are disproportionately younger and healthier, signing them up improves the risk pool and consequently the affordability of coverage for all enrollees”. The White House says the meeting focused on best practices that will encourage new customers to enroll and returning customers to shop around.
UnitedHealthcare and Oscar Health Insurance announced earlier this year they would pull out of New Jersey’s individual health market in 2017, and Aetna withdrew its plans to join the market. “But at a time when 29 million people are still uninsured, and 31 million are underinsured, we must continue to make needed health care reforms so that the American people can have health care as a right, not a privilege”, Sanders said in a written statement provided by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
The president reportedly dropped into a meeting held between the insurers and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. “The marketplace, while strong, is no exception”.
Executives from Aetna and UnitedHealth did not participate in the meeting.
Obama sent a letter to the insurance companies offering individual plans on the marketplace in 2017 to request help and input into how to sign up younger and healthier individuals in the marketplace, multiple sources noted.
Obama acknowledged that there have been struggles during the first few years of the exchanges.
“I think the government wants to pay and is feeling pressure to pay in order to help stabilize the exchanges”, Taylor said.
President Barack Obama on Monday urged USA insurers offering coverage next year under his national healthcare law to step up their efforts to enroll those who remain uninsured, especially younger and healthier Americans.
“We are also hosting a Millennial Outreach and Engagement Summit at the White House on September 27 focused exclusively on how to enroll more youth in the Marketplace during open enrollment. We welcome efforts to increase your outreach during this open enrollment period”.
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“It’s important to the people and communities we serve to have access to affordable health care options”, said Scott Serota, CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and a participant at the meeting.
