Page 3 - NAGICO 12 MAART 2016
P. 3
U.S. NEWS A7
Saturday 12 March 2016
Giant canopies US Financial Front:
part
ACA co-ops lose big in 2015; some expect 2016 profits
of $6 billion Atlanta
airport expansions “They are still financially
JEFF MARTIN fragile, though. There obvi-
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Two gi- ously is still some risk there,
ant, translucent canopies
spanning several lanes of as there is with any start
roadway and sidewalks
outside the domestic ter- up business.”
minal will be among the
most visible aspects of a Maryland’s Evergreen
$6 billion expansion and
renovation project at the Health Cooperative did
world’s busiest airport dur-
ing the next 20 years, offi- the best of the remaining
cials announced this week.
A computer animation un- co-ops in 2015, booking a
veiled at the Atlanta air-
port’s inaugural “State of loss of $10.8 million. Land of
the Airport” address shows
the massive structures en- Lincoln Mutual Health Insur-
closing the drop-off and
pickup lanes outside the ance Co. in Illinois lost $90.8
main terminal and con-
necting the terminal to million.
parking decks.
The canopy will protect Maine’s Community Health
travelers from the elements
“while making a memo- Options made $7.3 million
rable impression of the
world-class stature of At- in 2014 but lost $74 million
lanta,” said Miguel South-
well, general manager of last year. More than half of
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport. that stemmed from a re-
The airport also plans to up-
date the interior of the do- serve the insurer set aside
mestic passenger terminal
and concourses and add to cover future losses.
a sixth runway and a 400-
room hotel, officials said. Both the Maine and Illinois
Parts of the ticketing areas
where passengers check in co-ops say higher-than-
for domestic flights will be
“flooded with natural light” The HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop expected costs hurt them
when renovations are screen in Washington. The Affordable Care Act’s health insurance co-ops absorbed deep finan-
complete, Southwell said. cial losses last year, and 2016 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for these nonprofit alter- in 2015.
Work begins on concourse natives to traditional insurers.
renovations later this year. Hospital and medical ex-
The project accelerates (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
next year with work on penses for Community
parking decks, passenger
gates and the terminal ren- Health Options more than
ovation, officials said.
Atlanta’s airport handled doubled to $354.7 million,
101.5 million passengers
last year, more than any TOM MURPHY ACA’s public insurance ex- cover more than 350,000 something CEO Kevin Lew-
other in the world, officials AP Business Writer changes. They will have to people, or nearly triple their
said. q The Affordable Care Act’s determine soon whether total from 2014. Enrollment is attributes in part to pent-
health insurance co-ops their businesses can stand is growing better than ex-
absorbed deep financial on their own and compete pected and patient popu- up demand from people
losses last year, and 2016 is with more established car- lations appear to be get-
shaping up to be a make- riers. ting younger and healthier who had been waiting for
or-break year for these “Plan year 2016 is a critical in some cases. That can
nonprofit alternatives to year for these co-ops — help cut future expenses. coverage in order to seek
traditional insurers. they must move from start- Plus, the co-ops are learn-
Officially called Consumer up to stability and improve ing more about their pa- treatment. But that pro-
Operated and Oriented their financial capabilities,” tient population, which
Plans, these still-fledgling said Kevin Counihan, CEO can help them price future gram, which aims to help
insurers were devised dur- of the federal exchange coverage to cover claims.
ing the ACA’s creation to operator HealthCare.gov, These insurers knew 2015 insurers pay big medical
inject competition into in- during a Thursday hear- would be ugly, accord-
surance markets. But they ing held by the Senate’s ing to Kelly Crowe, CEO of bills, will end after this year.
have struggled from the Homeland Security & Gov- the trade association the
start to build a customer ernment Affairs Commit- National Alliance of State Maryland’s Evergreen
base from scratch and tee. Health Co-Ops. But she
deal with higher-than-ex- A dozen of the 23 co-ops said last year’s numbers Health should turn a profit
pected expenses, among created under the law don’t reflect where the co-
other problems. have closed, and many of ops stand today. Crowe in 2016, according to CEO
Heading into their third full the survivors lost well over noted that many are grow-
year of operation, the co- $20 million last year, ac- ing methodically and add- Dr. Peter Beilenson.
ops are adding customers cording to recently filed ing more stable, employer-
and improving their cov- annual statements com- sponsored coverage. He said $7.3 million of Ev-
erage, but they also face piled by the National Asso- “We’re optimistic that they
the end of some govern- ciation of Insurance Com- will continue to grow and ergreen’s 2015 loss came
ment programs designed missioners. be a viable alternative for
to support insurers as But the co-ops also hit people in selecting their from a payment the insurer
they build business on the a growth spurt and now health care,” she said.
had to make for a federal
risk adjustment program.
That program aims to help
insurers with high-cost pa-
tients by giving them pay-
ments from carriers with
healthier patient popula-
tions.
Beilenson and other co-op
leaders say the formula for
calculating this risk adjust-
ment is skewed to favor es-
tablished insurers, and they
are talking with govern-
ment officials about adjust-
ing it.q
