Aetna’s withdrawal from Affordable Care Act markets has sparked the latest round of dire predictions about the law’s survival. Yet time and time again the ACA has proved durable,insuring 20 million Americans with improvements each year. This time will be no different.
Contrary to popular perception, the “risk pool” — the balance of healthy and sick enrollees — has been stable. Indeed, it was broadened as total enrollment increased by 66 percent in 2015, and per enrollee costs declined 0.1 percent between 2014 and 2015. While data is not yet available for 2016, and results vary by state, this indicates that the Affordable Care Act is not facing a crisis.
The above excerpt was originally published in The Washington Post.
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