Anthem Will Stop Offering ACA Exchange Plans in Wisconsin, Indiana

Anthem Inc. said it would pull out of the Affordable Care Act's health-insurance marketplaces in Wisconsin and Indiana next year, the latest sign of strain in the exchanges as Senate Republicans push to quickly pass a health overhaul.

The Indianapolis-based insurer, which had previously said it would leave the exchange in Ohio, cited a "volatile" insurance market in its latest pullback announcement, and it said that "planning and pricing for ACA-compliant health plans has become increasingly difficult due to a shrinking and deteriorating individual market, as well as continual changes and uncertainty in federal operations, rules and guidance," including the future of federal payments that help reduce health costs for low-income ACA enrollees and an ACA tax on health insurance products.

The Trump administration has threatened to halt the cost-sharing payments.

Anthem's withdrawal from Indiana and Wisconsin's exchanges doesn't immediately appear to add to the tally of counties poised to lack ACA insurers next year, which now includes 44 counties in Ohio, Washington and Missouri, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 21, 2017 13:42 ET (17:42 GMT)