It appears that a lot of folks will have little choice for Obamacare next year. One third of United States when choosing insurers for Obamacare marketplaces may have only one to pick from in 2017.
There are seven states that are project to only have one carrier in 2017. Alabama, Alaska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming based on research that was done by the Avalere consultancy. Then over half the US about 55% may wind up having two or less insurers to choose from for government-run exchanges. There could also be some sub-region counties with no plans made available.
These were findings reflective of the effects when announcements were mad about 3 major insurers –UnitedHealth and Humana sharply reducing the number of areas they’ll be selling individual health plans during 2017 because of financial losses for those plans along with failures of most of their co-op insurance plans.
It’s not the number of plans available but the analysis relates more to how many insurers in any given (rating region). Single insurers may offer plans with different price points with different levels of coverage.
This analysis also makes an assumption that no new carriers will enter the markets and for that it acknowledges that this may be overestimating how many areas will have little or no competition. With that said the report is a bit of sobering news for a lot of consumers, approximately 11 million who are now being covered by plans that were sold on the exchange.
There are several steps remaining before the marketplace competition and prices are known to get a full picture. They remain confident multiple choices will be made available for the majority of marketplace and will be able to find a plan for less than $75 a month.