Moda Health exiting Alaska exchange in 2017

Only one insurer will be offering coverage on the health insurance exchange in Alaska with Moda Health's exit from the marketplace in 2017, according to the Alaska Dispatch.

Moda said in a statement it may consider returning to marketplace in the near future, but argued significant changes are needed in the market for it to “be sustainable for Alaskans and for Moda.”

“Our preliminary calculations showed that we would need a significant premium increase in 2017 to be sustainable on the individual market,” said Moda’s Director of Alaska Sales & Service Jason Gootee. “At some point, you can’t keep passing these significant costs on to consumers. Like many others, we want this market to have long-term sustainability and we look forward to continuing the conversations with our many statewide partners on future market reforms.”

Moda covers around 14,000 of the 23,000 Alaskans who have purchased coverage on the state’s exchange. Alaska's Division of Insurance is anticipating only one insurer, Premera BlueCross-Blue Shield, will offer plans on the individual marketplace for 2017.

“A single insurer does not allow for adequate choice for the 23,000 Alaskan consumers on the individual market, and is even more of a concern given that Premera is also experiencing significant losses in Alaska’s individual market,” Lori Wing-Heier, director of the Division of Insurance, said in a statement. “The underlying issues of the high costs for medical care, a small market and unsustainable claim losses continue to harm our health insurance market.”

Moda’s exit follows the departure of Aetna, State Farm, and Assurant Health from Alaska exchanges prior to the last open enrollment period.

Concerns over Moda’s financial condition have led to its departures from other states, at times involuntarily. In October 2015, the company announced it was ending its operations in California and Washington. After Oregon put the company on “supervision” after more than $30 million in losses in the first nine months of 2015, Alaska briefly suspended Moda's participation on the exchanges, which would have resulted in the same single insurer option for the state’s marketplace customers.

Financial losses from exchange business have led several insurers to announce departures from state marketplaces for 2017, most notably the nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealth.