Erica Hutchins Coe Explains the Impact of the ACA on Health Plans

Since the implementation of the ACA, health plans have been moving towards more managed, narrower plans. In addition, Erica Hutchins Coe, partner and co-leader of Center for US Health System Reform at McKinsey & Company, said that she has seen a progression of younger, healthier adults moving into the marketplace.

Transcript (slightly modified)

What has been the biggest change in health insurance plans being offered since the ACA was implemented?

In our analysis of all of the offerings across marketplaces for the last 3 years, one of the biggest shifts we see happening is a shift towards more managed, narrower plans. And this is something that we see kind of consumers experiencing and also a clear tie to carrier profitability that’s driving this as well.

What have you learned from studying the first 3 years of open enrollment under the ACA?

I think that overall, one of the things that we’re seeing is that even though we’ve now had 3 years, the individual market and marketplaces in particular have not yet reached a stable point and that we expect some of this volatility and changing dynamics to continue heading into 2017 so we’re keeping a very close eye on the dynamics.

What progress has been made in enrolling populations like young adults into health insurance plans?

So there definitely has been more progress there than the very first year. I think as the overall market continues to increase, we are seeing a slightly younger, slightly healthier mix of people move in and hopefully this will continue as the market grows.