Samantha Wildow: CareSource, Molina to drop ACA Marketplace plans in Ohio in 2027

Dayton-based health insurer CareSource, along with another health insurer Molina Healthcare of Ohio, will not have plans offered through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace in Ohio in 2027.

This will impact about a combined 54,000 Ohioans who currently get their health insurance from those two insurers through Ohio’s ACA Marketplace, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance.

“CareSource has made the difficult decision to exit the Ohio ACA Marketplace and will not be offering this product in 2027,” a statement from CareSource to the Dayton Daily News says.

Current members will maintain coverage through Dec. 31, 2026, and will have the opportunity to select a new plan during the open enrollment period. As of May, CareSource covered approximately 28,300 people through Ohio’s ACA Marketplace, according to the state.

This decision does not impact CareSource’s Medicaid or MyCare Ohio plans.

“[We] remain focused on our longstanding commitment to serving members and communities across Ohio,” CareSource’s statement says.

This was a strategic decision driven by rising healthcare costs and ongoing shifts in the ACA Marketplace, according to CareSource.

“CareSource continuously assesses its programs to ensure they remain effective and sustainable, allowing us to focus on delivering services that have the greatest impact on our members’ health and well-being,” its statement reads.

CareSource, a nonprofit, administers one of the largest Medicaid managed care plans in the U.S., offering health insurance — including Medicaid, ACA Marketplace, and Medicare products — to more than two million members across 12 states.

Across the CareSource brands, the company saw more than $13 billion in revenue in 2024, the most recent year for which data is currently available, with earnings exceeding $386 million, according to nonprofit tax filings.

Molina Healthcare Inc. sees declining second quarter profits

Molina Healthcare of Ohio did not respond to a request for comment.

Molina Healthcare Inc., the parent company of its Ohio subsidiary, is a publicly traded FORTUNE 500 company, and it provides managed healthcare services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It currently serves about 5.5 million members across 21 states, according to its website.

In its second quarter earnings report, Molina Healthcare Inc.’s total revenue was about $10.9 billion for the three months ended June 30 of this year. The company’s net income for the second quarter of 2026 was $60 million, a decrease of 76% compared to the second quarter of 2025, which was $255 million.

The company attributed those declines to lower revenues from members’ premiums and higher medical care ratios. A medical care ratio, also called a medical cost ratio or medical loss ratio, measures how much of the money a health insurer collects in premiums is spent on patients' medical care and efforts to improve health care quality.

Molina Healthcare Inc.’s consolidated medical care ratio for the second quarter of 2026 was 92.2%, according to the company’s earnings report. It was lowest among ACA Marketplace plans at 88.9%, which the company said was still higher that its expectation for its ACA Marketplace plans.

Molina Healthcare Inc.’s total revenue for 2025 was $45.4 billion with net earnings of $472 million and a medical care ratio of 91.7%, according to the company’s 2025 annual report. Compared to 2024, the company reported a total revenue of $40.7 billion, but with net earnings of $1.2 billion and a medical care ratio of 89.1%.

Open enrollment for 2027 starts Nov. 1

The ACA requires every state have an exchange where consumers can buy individual health insurance policies. In Ohio, the federal government runs the health insurance exchange. Ohioans who do not have health insurance through their employer, Medicare, or Medicaid may be eligible to purchase coverage through the exchange.

Open enrollment for 2027 runs Nov. 1 through Jan. 15, 2027. Members must enroll by Dec. 15 for coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2027, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance.

For 2027, the department approved nine companies to sell on the exchange. Based on the department's approved plan information, only five counties have two insurers, while all other counties will have three or more insurers offering plans. Counties in the Dayton, Springfield, and Hamilton regions each have between six and seven insurers offering plans.

Companies that have filed to sell individual plans in Ohio’s ACA Marketplace include, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance:

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AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Inc.

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Antidote Health Plan of Ohio, Inc.

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Buckeye Community Health Plan

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Community Insurance Company

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Medical Mutual of Ohio

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Oscar Buckeye State Insurance Corporation

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Oscar Insurance Corporation of Ohio

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Summa Insurance Company

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United Healthcare of Ohio

For more information, visit the ACA Marketplace’s website at HealthCare.gov or the Ohio Department of Insurance’s website at insurance.ohio.gov/consumers/health/federal-exchange-plans.

© 2026 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio). Visit www.journal-news.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.