Key insurer Centene plans to expand health exchange presence

Health insurer Centene announced plans Tuesday to expand into more Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges next year, at a time when competitors are either pulling back from those markets or proposing steep price hikes to remain.

Centene didn't specify where it will expand in all those states, but the growth spurt could fill some big holes that have developed in the exchanges, which allow people to buy individual coverage with help from an income-based tax credit.

Big national insurers such as Humana and Aetna have shuttered their exchange businesses for next year, and President Donald Trump's administration has been highlighting the thinning options on many exchanges as a sign that the market is failing.

[...] they've also been pulling back from this market or raising prices because of the uncertain future of billions of dollars in government funding that helps reduce some coverage expenses for people with modest incomes.

On the exchanges, it targets low-income customers in markets where it has already formed networks of providers for its Medicaid business.