Articles by Zachary Tracer

UnitedHealth to Drop Individual Obamacare Plans in Multiple States

UnitedHealth Group Inc. will drop out of government-organized health insurance markets in at least 16 states as the U.S. industry leader tries to stem losses from participating in Obamacare, the healthcare overhaul that has brought coverage to millions of people. …

Obamacare Exchanges Enrolled Estimated 12 Million This Year

About 12 million people will be covered through Obamacare’s insurance marketplaces this year, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday in a new estimate, a sign of the government’s continuing difficulties in getting people signed up for insurance under the 2010 …

Health Insurance Startup Oscar Narrows Hospital Networks to Compete

Oscar Health Insurance Corp. CEO Mario Schlosser has found the strategy he says will build his startup into a million-customer player in the health insurance industry: use tight, exclusive networks with hospitals to sell competitively priced insurance in perhaps 30 …

‘Cadillac’ Tax Opponents Unimpressed with Obama Budget Fix

President Barack Obama is having a tough time winning friends for his Cadillac tax. His plan to dial back the unpopular Obamacare tax on high- cost health plans, to be detailed in the fiscal 2017 budget he’ll release Feb. 9, …

Obamacare Sign-Ups Reach 8.3 Million in 2015

About 8.3 million people have signed up for health coverage through Obamacare’s U.S.-run shopping markets this year, the U.S. said Tuesday, surpassing last year’s total and signaling good news for hospital and health insurance companies. At about the same point …

How Long Will Health Insurers Remain Patient with Obamacare?

The fate of Barack Obama’s signature health- care law may depend on how long Anthem Inc. and Aetna Inc. are willing to wait before starting to make money off it. The two insurers are on the hot seat now that …

Doctors Seek to Block 2 Health Insurance Mergers

The American Medical Association asked U.S. antitrust regulators to block two proposed mergers that could reshape the health insurance industry. Anthem Inc. shouldn’t be permitted to buy Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc. should be blocked from acquiring Humana Inc., the …

Obamacare Sets 2016 Enrollment Goal of 10 Million

The Obama administration released a new Obamacare enrollment goal for 2016 that’s less than 1 million higher than this year’s projected total, acknowledging how hard it’s going to be to get more people to sign up for and maintain health …

Republican Jeb Bush Offers Health Plan with ‘Cadillac’ Tax

Jeb Bush, like other Republican presidential candidates, is vowing to repeal Obamacare, while making health care more innovative and affordable. Bush’s health care plan, outlined on Monday and Tuesday, discusses how he’d change a system that accounts for about 18 …

New York Regulators to Shut Obamacare Insurer Health Republic

Health Republic Insurance of New York, the Affordable Care Act insurer that got $265 million in U.S. loans, will stop selling policies and eventually cease operations under orders from New York and federal regulators. The insurer will be wound down …