Analyst: Exchanges to be small health enrollment driver

Major health insurers are in line for another year of growth as key Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) programs open for business, according to a Barclays analyst.

PPACA will expand the state-and-federally funded Medicaid program in several states next year. State-based health insurance exchanges also will begin, and uninsured people will be able to use those to buy coverage with help from income-based subsidies or tax credits.

The government also will continue to reduce funding for Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the government’s Medicare program for the elderly and disabled people.

Analyst Joshua Raskin said in a Thursday evening research note that the Medicaid expansion should help drive enrollment growth next year, and the exchanges will wind up being a “very small” influence.

Raskin said next year will look a lot like this year, and changes to the health care system will phase in over many years.