{UAH} Mulindwa : Obamacare's Looking So Good Insurers Are Fighting To Sell It

Obama care is here to stay

Bruce JapsenSenior Contributor

Healthcare

I write about healthcare business and policy

A demonstrator in support of the Affordable Care Act after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to save Obamacare tax subsidies outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 25, 2015. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg © 2015 Bloomberg Finance LP© 2015 BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP

News last week that Oscar Health filed a federal lawsuit accusing Florida Blue of a "monopoly" in selling individual health coverage under the Affordable Care Act is the latest signal that Obamacare is here to stay.

Florida is one of the many new markets Oscar is selling individual healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act for benefits that would begin in January 2019. Oscar's lawsuit accuses Florida Blue of an exclusive broker policy that forces brokers to sell its policies.

But some think the Oscar suit is as much about crying foul as it is a way to grab headlines and let Floridians know that there are more choices in the suddenly hot business of Obamacare than the dominant Blue Cross carrier that has more than 1 million individual enrollees in the state.

Aggressive marketing and related business sales practices are a new one this year for Obamacare.

"Insurers are competing aggressively for business as many have made investments that will bolster margins, and therefore it is a membership acquisition numbers game," said Hsiu Mei Wong, U.S. innovation lead at PA Consulting. 

Across the country, more insurers are participating in the ACA's insurance exchanges with 608 counties "gaining at least one insurer in the marketplace, while only five counties will lose an insurer," the Kaiser Family Foundation said in a new report last week.

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