Politico Pro interviewed Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health, for an article on the new challenges insurers face since HHS announced that it will only disburse a fraction of requested payments to health plans in the risk corridor program.
Politico Pro reports that HHS recently announced that it will only disburse 12.6 percent of requested payments for the first year of the ACA's risk corridor program, which was designed to protect health plans participating in exchanges from financial risk. The timing of the announcement means insurers have no ability to change their rates for 2016 to make up for any funding shortfalls.
"It's particularly challenging for the smaller carriers," said Ario. "They're the ones without the deep pockets."