Illinois' Largest Insurer Plans To Remain On Obamacare Exchange

CHICAGO, IL — The largest insurer in the state, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, plans to remain on the Obamacare exchange next year, even as other some major insurers pull out of health insurance marketplaces in other states.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Blue Cross this week confirmed the company is submitting proposals for next year's insurance rates and plans to the Illinois Department of Insurance ahead of a Wednesday deadline.

Currently, Blue Cross is the only insurer on the exchange that offers individual PPO plans, and in Lake and McHenry counties it is the only insurer that offers an individual exchange plan, the Tribune reported.

Blaming potential changes to the Affordable Care Act, the insurer has already raised premiums for individual plans on state exchanges by between 40 and 60 percent. A spokesperson for Blue Cross told the Tribune the company is working with Illinois regulators to "achieve a stable and sustainable market."

The Chicago-based parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliates in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, Health Care Service Corp., generated $869 million in profit in the first quarter of 2017, Axios reported, citing the company's latest financial documents.

The House of Representatives passed a bill last month (The American Health Care Act) to significantly change the Affordable Care Act. The Senate is expected to present its own version of an Obamacare replacement. No proposal has yet been publicly disclosed, although Sen. Bob Corker said Tuesday on MSNBC a version could be released publicly as early as Thursday.

Top photo: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Headquarters | Ryan Kirby