After years in which many insurers lost money, then lost even more in 2015, “we are seeing the first signs in 2016
that this market could be manageable for most health insurers,” the Standard & Poor’s analysts said.
Just this week, two of the three largest insurance companies in Iowa, Wellmark Blue Cross
and Aetna, said they would stop selling individual policies in the state next year.
“If you are an insurer and think the exchange is here to stay, your tolerance for annual losses is higher,” she said, “and it’s a long-term strategy.”
A version of this article appears in print on April 8, 2017, on Page B7 of the New York edition
with the headline: Insurers Stem Losses, and May Soon Profit, From Health Law Plans.
The analysis, by Standard & Poor’s, looked at the performance of many Blue Cross plans in nearly
three dozen states since President Barack Obama’s health care law took effect three years ago.
While Mr. Banerjee predicted insurers would probably raise their prices only moderately next year, he said
questions over whether there would be as much government financing could lead to much sharper increases.
