With open enrollment looming in the fall, insurers selling coverage in the Obamacare exchanges face some hard questions as key deadlines fast approach.
They must finalize their 2018 prices as soon as next week, then need to commit by the end of September whether they are in — or out — for next year. And they must do those things amid the considerable uncertainty that swirls around them.
Insurers still don’t know whether the Trump administration will continue paying them for the discounts they are required to give low-income customers on copays, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses. And they can’t be entirely certain the executive branch will enforce the mandate requiring most people to buy insurance — without which, individual market health plans could become overburdened with sick, expensive enrollees.