Bright Health’s Exchange Exit Casts Doubt About Startup’s Future
Bright Health Group, Inc., a startup health insurer that has struggled to reach profitability, said on Oct. 11 that it will fully exit the Affordable Care Act exchanges next year and only sell Medicare Advantage products in Florida and California.
“I believe this is regulator driven,” says Ari Gottlieb, principal of the consulting firm A2 Strategy Group, who has been following the performance of newly public startup insurers such as Bright Health, Oscar Health, Inc. and Clover Health Investments Corp. Gottlieb points to the fact that 2023 rates have already been finalized for exchange plans, and Bright Health went back and forth with insurance regulators over rates in states like Florida — suggesting that, until recently, it planned to be in the individual/family plan market next year.