Oscar Freezes ACA Signups in Florida, Citing ‘Market Exits by Certain Carriers’

December 16

In a move made at a critical juncture in the annual Affordable Care Act open enrollment period, Oscar Health, Inc. recently said it will “temporarily stop accepting new members in the state of Florida.”

Industry observers tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT, that the decision is clearly linked to fellow startup Bright Health Group, Inc.’s exit from all 15 states in which it was set to sell plans next year. But they’re divided on what the implications are for Oscar’s viability as a business.

In a Dec. 12 press release, Oscar — which was founded in 2012 and went public in 2021 — said that it “proactively engaged regulators [in Florida], as a result of the changing market dynamics following market exits by certain carriers, regarding options to manage its membership growth.”

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Health Plan Weekly

Leslie Small

Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.