Oct. 19--Land of Lincoln Health confirmed Monday that the startup insurer will limit the sales of new policies for small employers for the last two months of the year in order to manage its exposure.
The startup insurer said in a statement that it is focused on "responsible growth" after enrolling more than 50,000 members in its health plans in 2015. Land of Lincoln, a nonprofit health insurer spawned by the Affordable Care Act, signed up about 4,000 members in 2014, its first year offering policies.
Land of Lincoln said in a statement that the enrollment was ahead of target.
"As we move toward the end of the year, we are strategically managing our performance, including ensuring we are not surpassing our enrollment targets," the statement said. "Responsible growth ensures that our members have the service and benefits they deserve.
The decision affects businesses with 2 to 50 employees. The company said it will continue expanding its individual and large group business.
Land of Lincoln is the only Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan (CO-OP) in Illinois. The co-ops were an experiment under the health act to infuse competition and lower prices for consumers shopping for individual and family policies on state and federal exchanges. Land of Lincoln received a $160 million low-interest federal loan to get started.
But many of the 23 co-ops are struggling to survive amid heavy financial losses. Eight co-ops have collapsed or are unwinding operations, including ones in Colorado and Oregon that announced Friday that they were folding.
Land of Lincoln's growth came after the co-op lowered its monthly premiums for 2015 by as much as 30 percent compared to 2014. The company said it remains "steadfast and committed to providing an alternative health insurance option in Illinois."
___
(c)2015 the Chicago Tribune
Visit the Chicago Tribune at http://ift.tt/sYd3cl
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
0 Response to " Illinois Health Co-Op Limits Small-Business Policies "
Post a Comment