Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers keep winning from Affordable Care Act’s risk program

A program that undergirds the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces continues to bolster the balance sheets of large Blue Cross Blue Shield companies, according to a STAT analysis of new federal data.

Conversely, that same program — called “risk adjustment” — has created substantial financial burdens for startup insurers including Bright Health Group, which has now exited all health insurance markets, and Friday Health Plans, which has shut down.

More than two dozen BCBS insurers are projected to collect more than $4.7 billion from competing insurers on the ACA marketplaces, according to the analysis. The biggest amounts are concentrated among a few dominant Blues conglomerates.

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