Dive Brief:
- America’s Health Insurer’s Plans (AHIP) has announced it will overhaul of its membership fees, The Hill reported.
- AHIP noted the change marks its first “major restructuring” since 2003.
- The news came with AHIP's statement introducing its next chairmen: Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish in 2017 and Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson in 2018.
Dive Insight:
AHIP had not released any details about the new plans as of Tuesday's announcement. Whatever changes are in store come as the leading health insurance lobby regroups after losing its two largest members within the last year: UnitedHealth and Aetna. The loss of those members raised speculation as to whether AHIP would survive and how it would navigate the changing industry landscape.
AHIP has been torn in the past in attempting to represent the best interests of its increasingly varied membership, and has potentially lost some relevance as insurers proved willing to lobby their interests independently or in smaller groups.
The organization's new direction could prove pivitol as insurers and the ACA continue to take scrutiny, as controversial mergers remain pending between Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna, and as the upcoming 2016 election opens the door for any number of changes to the status quo.