"At this point, it is not dangerous at all ...

... [to see health insurers increase their borrowing by 94% over the last five years]. When we saw this trend, we decided to put this briefing together. The point is less to stress the danger of borrowing and more to show the impact the ACA is having on the financial flows for the health insurers. Companies are taking more and more government products in general [like Medicare Advantage], as well as ACA exchange products where 80% of enrollees are on government subsidies, which have been delayed at times in being paid back to insurers. And then you have the 3Rs, which is a retroactive [payment] by nature so what health insurers are faced with is a different type of cash flow than from commercial products."
— Doniella Pliss, a senior financial analyst at A.M. Best Co., which issued a recent report on health plan debt, told AIS's Health Plan Week