BlueCross preps Knoxville exchange return

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee executives plan to return to the individual insurance marketplace in the Knoxville area next year. Such a move would mean Tennessee’s third-largest city wouldn’t go without an insurer for 2018 exchange plans after BlueCross pulled out last year and Humana officials signaled their intent to do so after this year.

In a letter Tuesday to Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Julie McPeak, BlueCross President and CEO J.D. Hickey wrote that his team’s plan to maintain a marketplace presence in Knoxville is “an extension of our mission to serve our fellow Tennesseans” and comes after more favorable early 2017 results, due in part to big premium hikes.