Obamacare Exchanges Get Help From Walgreen Company (WAG) and the Blues

As for Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG), the company could gain more business as consumers join the health exchanges. Uninsured individuals are less likely to buy prescription drugs. Also, confused seekers of new health insurance might be more likely to visit Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) stores for filling prescription drugs than other drugstores if they perceive those stores as more helpful in navigating the Obamacare waters.

For the Blues plans that participate in Obamacare exchanges, public perception that they’re being helpful could conceivably boost the numbers of people selecting their insurance offerings. The insurers also have a vested interest in promoting the exchanges for healthier individuals, whose enrollment helps offset higher costs associated with less healthy members.

Pushing Obamacare exchanges is a double-edged sword, though. WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP) expects reduced profit margins as small employers send employees to the insurance exchanges. Susquehanna Financial Group financial analyst Chris Rigg estimates that the company could give up profits of around $400 million over a four-year period. With the delay of the Obamacare employer mandate, the start of that period will push back by a year.

What’s next
The verdict is still out as to whether the exchanges will actually be operational by the scheduled date of Oct. 1. The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, says that the likelihood of a successful launch by the deadline “cannot be determined.” With less than 90 days remaining, good news for Obamacare will need to be more commonplace than those Sahara igloos.

The article Obamacare Exchanges Get Help From Walgreen and the Blues originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Keith Speights.

Fool contributor Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends WellPoint. The Motley Fool owns shares of WellPoint.

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