Dive Brief:
- New research by the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System Reform suggests that the ACA is fostering more competition among health insurers, driving down premiums and improving the quality of coverage.
- According to the report, 28% of insurers offering exchange plans are offering individual plans for the first time, accounting for 16% of the 21,000 plans sold on the exchange.
- The new entrants, primarily companies that provided only Medicaid or co-op coverage, make up 76% of additions to the individual insurance marketplace, the report found.
Dive Insight:
It would be nice if these new entrants, who seem to be offering competitive prices, pull down prices across the exchange. But given that many exchanges are offering access only to a few health insurers, there's not much chance for money-saving competition. The Obama administration needs to address the shortage of entrants to the network if the ACA is to do what it's designed to do. Clearly, it's going to be complicated to get a robust ACA network established.