Dayton’s CareSource to pick up nearly 40K new customers

Downtown Dayton-based CareSource will pick up nearly 40,000 new customers next year as result of the decisions by Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance carriers to exit federal health insurance marketplaces in Ohio and Indiana, company officials said Tuesday.

Downtown Dayton-based CareSource will pick up nearly 40,000 new customers next year as result of the decisions by Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance carriers to exit federal health insurance marketplaces in Ohio and Indiana, company officials said Tuesday.

Downtown Dayton-based CareSource will pick up nearly 40,000 new customers next year as result of the decisions by Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance carriers to exit federal health insurance marketplaces in Ohio and Indiana, company officials said Tuesday.

CareSource President and CEO Pamela Morris said she was informed Friday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, would automatically re-enroll displaced policyholders with health insurers still in the marketplaces to avoid any interruption in coverage.

The affected marketplace enrollees will be matched with remaining health insurers who best fit their needs, offering comparable health plans with similar benefits and costs in the same geographical areas.

As a result, CareSource will pick up 14,000 new marketplace members in Ohio, and 25,000 in Indiana for coverage beginning in 2017, according to Morris.

“Some people, I’m afraid, would have let their coverage lapse had this not happened,” she said. “I applaud CMS for taking this step to have more seamless coverage for these consumers, and not leave them on their own to start navigating again to find another plan.”

Company officials could not say what the increase in customers would mean for its job force in Dayton, but CareSource has added a number of new jobs this year as the company expands.

CareSource currently serves more than 1.5 million members in four states. This includes 1.3 million Medicaid members in Ohio. In Indiana, 27,000 Hoosiers are enrolled in CareSource Marketplace and Medicare Advantage health plans in Indiana.

The company employs more than 2,000 in Dayton and is downtown’s largest employer.

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