The Wall Street Journal: Trump health care executive order expected to hurt some insurers and benefit others

The executive order on the health-care system signed Thursday by President Donald Trump will likely have a split effect on the health-insurance industry, creating new challenges for many companies but opportunities for others.

The impact of the order will take months to become clear, as federal agencies move the changes through the regulatory process. But actuaries and industry officials said the shift could create problems for insurers that offer plans under the Affordable Care Act, both to individuals and small businesses.

The insurers selling ACA policies to individuals next year are expected to be mostly Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies and insurers focused on Medicaid, such as Centene Corp. CNC, -2.47%
 and Molina Healthcare Inc. MOH, -0.25%
 . They could lose healthy ACA enrollees drawn to new, cheaper though less-comprehensive plans allowed under new rules.

The shift could “continue to deplete the ACA pool, both individual and small group, of healthy risk, which will then spiral the prices up so only sick people will buy,” said Martin Hickey, chief executive of New Mexico Health Connections, a nonprofit insurer.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

Popular on WSJ:

Cord-Cutters Sap AT&T’s TV Business

Fortysomethings Are the New Club Kids