Anthem pulls out of ACA market in Maine

Sept. 27--Anthem will not sell Affordable Care Act plans in Maine next year, the company announced Wednesday, the deadline for health insurers to decide where to offer coverage under the embattled law.

Anthem was one of three insurers that previously sold coverage in the state under the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama's signature health reform plan. One other, Community Health Options, confirmed it will remain in the marketplace in 2018.

It remained unclear late Wednesday morning whether the third, Harvard Pilgrim, will participate in Maine in 2018.

Offering health coverage under the ACA, also called Obamacare, has become "increasingly difficult due to a shrinking and deteriorating individual market" and uncertainty at the federal level, including around the future availability of subsidies that help consumers afford insurance, Anthem said in a statement.

"While we are pleased that some steps have been taken to address the long-term challenges all health plans serving the individual market are facing, the market remains volatile," Colin Manning, a regional spokesman for Anthem, said. "A stable insurance market is dependent on products that create value for consumers through the broad spreading of risk and a known set of conditions upon which rates can be developed."

Anthem will sell only one plan in Maine's individual market next year, outside of the Obamacare exchange. The gold-level plan will be available in Aroostook, Hancock and Washington counties, the company said.

Existing customers who purchased Anthem plans through the exchange can renew their current plan in 2018 but only off the exchange and without federal financial assistance, the company said.

"As the marketplace continues to evolve and adjust to changing regulatory requirements and marketplace conditions, we will reevaluate whether a more robust presence in the exchange is appropriate in the future," Manning said.

Watch bangordailynews.com for updates.

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