UnitedHealth to drop out of Covered California in Ventura County, elsewhere

June 05--Less than a year after Covered California officials announced UnitedHealth Group would offer coverage in Ventura County and elsewhere, the insurer has said it will leave the state's insurance exchange.

The introduction of the nation's largest insurer into California's Affordable Care Act marketplace -- created to give previously uninsurable people a chance at coverage -- was characterized locally as a way to give consumers more options.

About 1,200 people in five regions of the state opted for UnitedHealth's Covered California offerings. And in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, about 400 people bought coverage.

"It's a small footprint," Covered California spokesman James Scullary said.

Plans from all insurers in Covered California cover about 1.4 million people statewide.

In April, UnitedHealth announced it would drop out of all but a handful of Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges across the country. The California exit happens on Jan. 1.

"The smaller overall market size and shorter term, higher risk profile within this market segment continue to suggest we cannot broadly serve it on an effective and sustained basis," spokesman Matt Rodriguez said Wednesday in a written statement.

People who have bought UnitedHealth plans through Covered California don't have to do anything immediately, Scullary said.

Their coverage remains valid until the end of the year. In the fall, they will have to pick a plan for 2017 coverage.

Before UnitedHealth joined Covered California, three insurers offered Covered California plans in Ventura County, triggering concern about choices and, in some cases, access to care. The trio -- Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Kaiser Permanente -- have offered plans since the marketplace's launch more than two years ago.

Scullary said coverage intentions for those insurers and others in 2017 are expected to be revealed in July.

"We'll see if any new plans join the network or any of the existing plans expand the coverage," he said, asserting that providing choices remains a priority.

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