Leading Commercial Health Insurance Companies in an Era of Expanding Public Enrollment: Analysis of 5-Year Trends, 2010-

This project will use corporate financial reports to assess membership and financial trends in the 5 largest publicly traded private health insurance companies from 2010 through the first quarter of 2016. This time period covers the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s insurance expansions and changes in Medicare Advantage payment rules. In addition to the national data, the project will include a state analysis based on Market-Scan data available through the Commonwealth Fund’s Scorecard team.

The study will provide a broad-based picture of the financial status of the nation’s largest private insurers, highlighting the extent to which they are dependent on entry into publicly supported markets for membership growth and revenues. It will also highlight the degree to which public programs are dependent on private entities to insure and pay for the care of beneficiaries. The study findings will help inform policy makers about the extent of this mutual dependency, the potential effects of increasing insurer consolidation for Americans enrolled in both private and public insurance programs, and implications for U.S. health care spending.