Some healthcare CEOs are optimistic about the individual insurance market’s future. Centene CEO Sarah London highlighted substantial growth in marketplace coverage, attributing it to government-sponsored subsidies and smaller businesses directing employees to purchase individual plans. The Inflation Reduction Act extended subsidies through 2025, stabilizing the marketplace and signaling its permanence. On-exchange enrollment reached a record 15.7 million in 2023. Oscar Health CEO Mark Bertolini drew parallels to Medicare Advantage, suggesting the Affordable Care Act’s enduring nature with 18 million enrollees by January. Confidence in the marketplace’s resilience prevails among these executives.
There’s a growing sense of optimism among several top healthcare executives regarding the future of individual marketplace insurance.
During a recent presentation at the Bank of America Securities Global Healthcare Conference on September 13th, Sarah London, the CEO of Centene, expressed her belief that the individual marketplace is poised to become the primary avenue through which consumers seek health insurance coverage. Ms. London pointed out that Centene had witnessed a substantial surge in marketplace insurance enrollment during the last enrollment cycle, thanks in part to the expansion of government-sponsored subsidies.
Ms. London elaborated, “Smaller businesses that either can’t or choose not to offer scalable insurance options to their employees are now encouraging them to explore individual coverage options on the exchanges. Many of these individuals are eligible for subsidies, making it a more cost-effective choice for both employers and employees.”
The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act has extended the availability of subsidies for marketplace coverage until 2025. While there is some concern that these subsidies might not be renewed in the future, Ms. London emphasized that leaders from both sides of the political spectrum have signaled their commitment to the longevity of the marketplace.
She noted, “What’s noteworthy is that the extension of these subsidies not only provided stability to the marketplace due to the subsidies themselves but also sent a clear message that the ongoing debates between Republicans and Democrats about the fate of the Affordable Care Act have subsided. Essentially, there is a widespread consensus that the marketplace is here to stay.”
According to data from KFF, on-exchange enrollment reached a historic high of 15.7 million individuals in 2023, primarily driven by the availability of subsidies.
Mark Bertolini, the CEO of Oscar Health, echoed this sentiment and expressed confidence in the future of the marketplace. Drawing parallels to a similar situation in 2010 when concerns about Congress defunding Medicare Advantage arose, Mr. Bertolini emphasized that the program eventually grew to encompass 15 to 20 million beneficiaries, becoming too integral to undo. He made a similar comparison to the Affordable Care Act today, predicting enrollment to reach over 18 million by January and asserting that it would be extremely challenging to dismantle the system at this point.
