“We have incurred losses in excess of $40 million over the past three years in these programs,” Don Ingalls, the insurer’s vice president of state and federal relations, said in the memo. “We have a 20+ year history of supporting these programs and members; however, we cannot continue to do so as the losses ultimately have been funded by other lines of business.”
Independent Health acknowledged that it has faced the same financial pressures in the program as its rival did.
“As a nonprofit health plan, Independent Health faced similar financial losses to its Medicaid program,” Frank J. Sava, a spokesman for Independent Health, said in a statement. “These losses were driven by carved-in pharmacy benefits and unique challenges in serving Medicaid beneficiaries in certain counties where there are provider access challenges.”
“I would argue that BlueCross BlueShield now has a lot more clients on Medicaid because of Obamacare, so they would lose a lot more money,” he said. “I don’t see how they could say that this doesn’t have a connection to Obamacare.”
