More than 30 health insurers are expected to seek spots in California's state-run health insurance exchange, vying for the opportunity to sell policies to up to 4 million new health insurance consumers.
Some of California's largest insurers, including Kaiser Permanente, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Health Net, have all demonstrated interest in selling plans through the exchange, known as Covered California, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Most of the insurers intend to sell in regional markets, with five indicating they want to sell policies statewide, the Sacramento Bee reported. Almost 15 insurers may place bids for the Los Angeles area, and about 20 plans could bid for the San Francisco market.
"There will be a lot of competition and interest, which will enable the exchange to be an active purchaser in every region and pick the best five or six plans," Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange, told the Times. "The plans we will be offering in San Diego will be very different from the set of plans in Sacramento or Los Angeles."
Exchange officials are expected to choose which insurers can sell on the online marketplace by June, the Times noted.
To learn more:
- read the Los Angeles Times article
- see the Sacramento Bee article