Centene plans to expand on exchanges

Health insurer Centene announced plans Tuesday to expand into more Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges for next year, at a time when competitors are either pulling back from those markets or proposing steep price hikes to remain.

The insurer said it will start offering coverage on exchanges in Missouri, Kansas and Nevada. It also will expand its presence in Florida, Ohio, Texas and Washington, among other states.

This growth spurt could fill some big holes that have developed in the exchanges, the only place where people can buy individual coverage with help from an income-based tax credit. Currently, 25 counties in Missouri, 20 in Ohio and two in Washington have no insurers lined up to sell coverage on the exchange in 2018.

Big national insurers such as Humana and Aetna have shuttered their exchange businesses for next year. President Donald Trump’s administration has highlighted the thinning options that remain in many markets as congressional Republicans devise a potential replacement for the Affordable Care Act.

Many insurers have been hit with steep losses by their exchange business since it started in 2014. But they’ve also been pulling back from this market or raising prices because of the uncertain future of billions of dollars in government funding that helps reduce some coverage expenses for people with modest incomes.