Louisiana residents looking for health care coverage through the new insurance marketplace set up by the federal government -- previously called an exchange -- may not have many options. "I'm not disappointed and I'm not surprised, but I would like to have much more competition in our health insurance market," state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said at the Baton...
Louisiana residents looking for health care coverage through the new insurance marketplace set up by the federal government -- previously called an exchange -- may not have many options.
"I'm not disappointed and I'm not surprised, but I would like to have much more competition in our health insurance market," state Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said at the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday (Sept. 23).
Starting Oct. 1, residents will have the option to enroll in insurance plans offered through Louisiana's federally run marketplace, where, ideally, several companies would be competing to provide coverage. But only Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana will be ready to offer insurance to anyone living in any ZIP code when the marketplace enrollment opens next week.
Besides Blue Cross and Blue Shield, at least one company plans to offer coverage statewide, though it won't have the capacity to do so by Oct. 1. A startup, the Louisiana Health Cooperative, wants to operate across the state eventually, but is still working to build a network of providers at this point, Donelon said.
Other groups have opted to offer coverage only in certain parts of Louisiana. For example, Monroe-based Vantage Health Plan offers insurance in several areas of the state, particularly northeast Louisiana, but does not have blanket coverage. Humana operates only in Jefferson Parish, said Donelon.
"My goal is to get as many companies competing with each other as possible. I think we are about average," when compared with other states, Donelon said.
Louisiana is one of a handful of states that doesn't regulate its health insurance market, so competition among companies is the only way to ensure lower costs, Donelon said. The commissioner has asked for some regulatory power over health insurance costs, but the state Legislature has declined to give him that power.
About 800,000 people in Louisiana lack health insurance. Donelon said it's not clear how much the new insurance marketplace will decrease those numbers, but it surely won't go down to zero. "They're not all going to be able to afford insurance. This is not a perfect fit. There is no doubt about it," he said.
The insurance commissioner is also skeptical that people will be able to make educated decisions about buying health insurance through the federal government's marketplace. "The complexity of it is mind-boggling," Donelon said.