Molina posts $230M loss, retreating from ACA markets
Molina Healthcare won’t offer plans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges in Utah and Wisconsin in 2018 after reporting a $230 million loss in the second quarter.
It’s a major shift for the Long Beach, Calif.-based company. According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, it made $33 million in profit during the same quarter in 2016. It had also been an outspoken defender of the ACA exchanges under former CEO J. Mario Molina, who was fired in May, but under interim chief executive Joseph White, the company will not only be reducing its ACA footprint, but also has requested an average premium increase of 55 percent in the nine states where it will continue to offer marketplace plans next year.
“The results reported today are disappointing and unacceptable,” White said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. “We must, and we will, do much better and we are taking aggressive, urgent and determined actions to improve our financial performance.”
The exchange exits and premium hikes will improve Molina’s financial situation, White predicted, along with the previously announced move to eliminate 1,400 jobs at the company.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.