Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Amid News Of Firms Fleeing From Exchanges, Largest Kansas Insurer Says It Will Stay
With a Monday deadline approaching, it isn鈥檛 clear whether all of the health insurance companies now participating in the Affordable Care Act marketplace in Kansas will continue in 2018. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, the state鈥檚 largest health insurer, has made a preliminary decision to continue and has filed initial paperwork with the Kansas Insurance Department, said Mary Beth Chambers, a company spokeswoman. (McLean, 5/12)
Tennessee's top health insurance official is expressing frustration over what she describes as a lack of answers from Washington and the Trump administration, as the state braces聽for a new round of insurance rate filings. The future of a聽type of health insurance subsidy called cost-sharing reductions (CSR) is causing distress for insurers across the country, and Tennessee聽Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak says she can't pinpoint the agency that will make the decision. (Fletcher, 5/12)
And Aetna's CEO says the debate over a single-payer system is needed聽鈥
The chief executive of one of the country鈥檚 largest health insurance companies says he is open to having a single-payer debate. 鈥淪ingle-payer, I think we should have that debate as a nation,鈥 Aetna chief executive Mark Bertolini said Thursday. (Kliff, 5/12)