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Conservative groups oppose ACA bailouts; GEICO changes way it sets NY premiums

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Conservative groups oppose ACA bailouts; GEICO changes way it sets NY premiums

A group of 15 conservative groups have written to Congress, opposing taxpayer bailouts for private insurers in any upcoming spending bills and appealing to members to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported. In the letter, they said new federal funding for risk mitigation programs or cost-sharing reduction subsidies to tackle the law's rising costs are "bad ideas."

A so-called parallel market could develop if the universal protections of the Affordable Care Act were weakened and plans that do not fully adhere to the law's rules were approved by regulators, stakeholders at the National Health Policy Conference said. Richard Bankowitz, chief medical officer at America's Health Insurance Plans, which hosted the conference, said the uncertainty caused by the executive orders as well as other actions the White House has taken have "splintered" the individual market.

Premera Blue Cross said it will invest $250 million across Washington and Alaska over five years to help stabilize the individual market. The company will also focus on improving access to care in rural areas and behavioral health. It has notified Washington and Alaska state regulators that it is committed to the individual market in 2019.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s GEICO unit will no longer factor in education and occupation while setting auto insurance premiums in New York, The Wall Street Journal reported. New York Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo's office banned the practice in 2017. Allstate Corp. and Liberty Mutual Insurance last year agreed to do the same.

A bill in the Illinois House seeks to establish a nonprofit independent company, which will offer insurance for workers' compensation and occupational disease. The director of insurance will loan $10 million to the Illinois Employers Mutual Insurance Co. from the Workers' Compensation Commission Operations Fund initially. The bill, introduced by Rep. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, was placed on the calendar for a second reading.

Financial news in other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: Warburg Pincus in Vietnam deal; 2 Japan banks to merge; Lotte Card M&A gets nod

Europe: ING scraps CEO pay rise plan; Monte dei Paschi names CFO

Middle East & Africa: QNB seeks higher foreign ownership cap; Ghanaian bank to raise 330M cedis in IPO

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.02% to 31,601.45, while the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.66% to 21,968.10.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.02% to 7,213.59 and the Euronext 100 rose 0.21% to 1,034.61.

On the macro front

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, the Consumer Price Index and the Redbook are due out today.