But while big insurers like UnitedHealth Group and Aetna have already largely abandoned the individual marketplaces, Molina Healthcare
has been a mainstay of the current federal health care law, offering Medicaid plans in 12 states and Puerto Rico.
“I think many in the industry are afraid,” said Dr. Molina, who said he decided to speak out after being
urged to by two close friends, one a retired insurance executive and another an AIDS advocate.
Still, Congress has an important negotiating tool: a key program
that helps low-income individuals with out-of-pocket costs, known technically as “cost-sharing reductions.” House Republicans brought a lawsuit to stop what it claimed was illegal funding of the program, worth $7 billion to the insurers last year.
The Senate has yet to debate measures that could deeply affect insurers, and Molina Healthcare just reported to investors last month
that it lost hundreds of millions of dollars in 2016 because of what Dr. Molina, its chief executive, called flawed federal funding formulas.