Aetna Inc. (AET), WellPoint, Inc. (WLP) & Three Obamacare Lessons From Medicaid Expansion

Insurers have to place bids in states well before they know what the state’s doing regarding the expansion. Take Florida as a recent example.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration recently published the Medicaid bids from private insurers hoping to participate in some of the state’s 11 regions. Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET)’s Coventry bid in every region while WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP)’s Amerigroup bid in seven.

But Florida’s up in the air regarding expansion. House Republicans suggest state-funded private insurance that would include people up to 100% of the federal poverty level. That’s below the 133% that Obamacare suggested, and the plan faces detractors not wanting to use taxpayer money. An approval would offer insurers a better payout since the state-funded private plans wouldn’t suffer from Medicaid’s cost-saving regulations.

Insurers face similar levels of confusion in the exchanges. There are contracts in place with state-run exchanges, such as Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) has with Connecticut. But the launch delays make that a hard path to predict. Then there’s WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP), which purchased a private health exchange in 2011 with plans to launch alongside the government exchanges.

Foolish final thoughts
The continued uncertainties surrounding Obamacare remain a contentious issue. It’s understandable that some aspects will fall into place over time. But frustrations mount when there are so little concrete data to hold up for inspection. For now, we’re left with the answer that the Medicaid expansion and exchanges are works in progress.

The article 3 Obamacare Lessons From Medicaid Expansion originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Brandy Betz.

Fool contributor Brandy Betz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends WellPoint. The Motley Fool owns shares of WellPoint.

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