In the latest blow to Obamacare, 131,000 in Tennessee are losing their Obamacare due to a shocking decision by BlueCross BlueShield to pull out of Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville.
Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, who has for years charted the ills of Obamacare, said the move “is more evidence that Obamacare is falling apart. Short term, we need to give families the opportunity to use their Obamacare subsidies to buy a policy for 2017 outside of the exchange.”
In a statement, the Tennessee Republican said, “Longer term, regardless of who the new president is, we need to replace Obamacare with insurance choices that allow Tennesseans to select low-cost insurance that fits their budget and their health care needs.”
BlueCross is the state’s largest insurer and their decision is both the latest by a big insurer to give up on the money-losing presidential initiative and a signal of more withdrawals by insurers to come.
BlueCross BlueShield Tennessean, “It’s not something we want to do but we believe we must look out for the health care and financial security for all the members that we serve. … The prospect of future losses has us in a place where we believe we need to reduce our risk in hopes that this marketplace will stabilize at some point.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
