BlueCross will drop Obamacare in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will not sell insurance plans on the Obamacare exchange in Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville next year, as the health care giant grapples with hefty losses and ongoing uncertainty on the marketplace.
The insurer made “an extremely difficult but necessary decision” to leave the state’s three largest metro areas as it tries to manage its number of members to hit a break-even point amid three years of losses, said Roy Vaughn, chief communications officer of BCBST.
“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,” Vaughn told The Tennessean.
The company formally made the change to its 2017 plans in a Friday filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — roughly a month after it raised the possibility of scaling back. Earlier this summer, BCBST requested — and was granted — state approval for an average 62-percent premium increase. The rate hike is still pending federal approval.
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