WellPoint sees strong interest in exchange products

The PPACA public exchanges opened their enrollment sites Oct. 1. Since then, some states-based exchanges and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ HealthCare.gov federal exchange enrollment site have run into well-publicized technical problems.

WellPoint has been a major force behind the creation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) exchange program, and analysts asked the company many questions about the program during the earnings call.

Executives said they will start to get “834 benefit enrollment” transaction data from state-based exchanges in November and hope to have something to say about exchange enrollment projections in January.

WellPoint hired “bubble staff” to prepare for problems with the start of exchange enrollment sites, and it knew the start of the exchanges could be a “lumpy experience,” Swedish said.

Also during the call, executives said:

• The range of prices for similar products has been wider on many exchanges than in the off-exchange market 
• The company has had better success with building the full cost of the new PPACA health insurance tax into commercial rates than into government plan rates
• Underlying medical costs are up about 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent, which is lower than the company had expected
• About half of the states in which the company runs Medicaid plans are taking PPACA Medicaid expansion money and that could help the company add about 400,000 Medicaid lives by the end of 2014

See also:

• Analyst sees private exchanges helping group insurance sales
• WellPoint plans exchange plan push
• PPACA exchanges crash health earnings calls