House Speaker Paul Ryan, flanked by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (left) and Rep. Greg Walden, holds up a copy of the American Health Care Act during a news conference March 7 on Capitol Hill. | AP Photo Major health insurer backs GOP's Obamacare repeal bill

The nation's second largest health insurer told leading House Republicans they support their bill repealing Obamacare, saying the “time to act is now” to stabilize the individual insurance market.

Anthem, in a letter obtained by POLITICO, endorsed major parts of the repeal bill, known as the American Health Care Act, and urged lawmakers to move the process forward “as quickly as possible.” The letter is a notable sign of support for Republicans after two major trade associations representing health insurers expressed reservations about their health plan this week.


The House GOP bill “addresses the challenges immediately facing the individual market and will ensure more affordable health plan choices for consumers in the short term," Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish wrote to chairmen of the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees on Thursday, the same day the panels advanced repeal legislation.

Anthem, which is still seeking federal approval for its $54 billion acquisition of Cigna, is the largest insurer in the Obamacare exchanges. It has previously warned that it would pull of the marketplaces for 2018 if improvements are not made. In the letter, the insurer says it is in the process of formulating rates and making decisions about its 2018 business.

The House repeal bill would eliminate the penalty for not having insurance, phase out Obamacare's Medicaid expansion starting in 2020, and establish a new system of insurance tax credits adjusted for age.

Anthem expressed support for bill provisions that would repeal Obamacare’s health insurance tax, temporarily continue the law’s cost-sharing subsidies, and allow customers to receive tax credits off the Obamacare exchanges.

“These provisions are essential and must be finalized quickly to have the intended impact on products and prices to benefit consumers,” Swedish wrote.

Anthem did not respond to a request for comment.

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America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, in separate letters to lawmakers earlier this week, expressed concern that the House bill, which would also shift Medicaid from an open-ended entitlement to a budgeted program based on number of enrollees, could lead to major coverage losses. Although AHIP said the bill included a “number of positive steps” to stabilize the insurance markets, it called for more robust tax credits to help low-income customers now receiving aid under Obamacare. It also warned that capping Medicaid could lead to “unnecessary disruptions in the coverage and care beneficiaries depend on.”

The Blues association asked Republicans to drop a one-year 30 percent “premium surcharge” on customers who let their coverage lapse, warning it could further destabilize the markets. Republicans included it in the bill as a replacement to the individual mandate, contending it would encourage healthy people to remain enrolled. But the Blues warned it would likely have the opposite effect — they say sicker customers would be more motivated to accept the penalty to purchase coverage.

