Health insurance executives believe the industry is well-positioned to endure the financial impacts of COVID-19, though they are concerned about the impact it could have on their employer coverage business, a new report finds.
Researchers at the Urban Institute and Georgetown University interviewed executives at 25 insurance companies representing private markets across the country, including both large insurers offering plans nationally or in multiple states and insurers operating in one state. The interviews were conducted between April and June.
They found that insurers were able to transition more easily than providers to meet the needs of COVID-19, such as having workers move home, which allowed them to largely continue their operations and sales as normal.
For the most part, their finances have continued to improve over the past several months due to the large volume of deferred care, according to the report.
"While this trend in claims could change at any moment, no insurer we interviewed expressed concern with their current financial standing," the researchers wrote.
RELATED: Payers likely to weather the COVID-19 financial storm, Moody's says
The interviewed executives said that the strong financial performance gave them the flexibility to launch initiatives to ease the burdens on providers, including relaxed prior authorization and advance payments.
That money also translated into many offering premium credits to members to ease their costs as well, according to the report.
The survey also found that for many health insurers the employer market has remained relatively stable despite the significant job losses caused by the pandemic. But there are concerns that small businesses and employers could drop coverage.
"One insurer who expected to see 'material membership reductions' instead stated being simply 'shocked and not sure what to make' of their employer business remaining so stable," the researchers wrote.
Those who were interviewed did note that part of why the sector has remained stable is that many of the jobs lost were in businesses that often do not offer benefits to employees anyway, such as retail and restaurants.
RELATED: Amid COVID-19 job losses, nearly 500K sign up for coverage on HealthCare.gov
They also said that many employer clients were able to continue offering health coverage because of stabilization opportunities in the CARES Act. However, they warned that once that funding runs dry, the situation could change.
But it was for small employers, those with 50 or fewer employees, that they were most concerned. Some insurance executives reported that they were hearing more from these businesses about establishing potential payment plans, and some reported declines in business with small employers already.
"While most insurers did not have a confident estimate of the number of small employers that are likely to drop coverage, early indications suggest that a wave of disruption is on the way," the researchers wrote.