‘More Than 1 Million In Obamacare To Lose Plans’ Next Year

‘For The People Losing Plans, There Are Fewer And Fewer Choices’

“For the people losing plans, there are fewer and fewer choices. One estimate by the Kaiser Family Foundation predicts that for at least 19 percent of the people in Obamacare’s individual market next year there will be only one insurer to choose from.” (“More Than 1 Million In Obamacare To Lose Plans As Insurers Quit,” Bloomberg, 10/14/16)

“South Carolina becomes the fifth state to officially be left with a single insurer in the Obamacare exchanges, with Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Based on current projections, North Carolina and Kansas could also be left in the same boat.” (“There Are Now 5 States With Only One Insurance Company Offering Obamacare Plans,” Business Insider, 10/04/2016)

NORTH CAROLINA: “As major insurers jilt their ACA customers, nowhere in the country will more people be left with only a single insurer when the marketplaces open for a fourth year of business. These defections are causing turbulence for a quarter-million North Carolinians whose insurance companies are leaving the state — and for the main insurer that will remain.” (“In North Carolina, ACA Insurer Defections Leave Little Choice For Many Consumers,” The Washington Post, 10/14/2016)

• “In North Carolina, for example, a BlueCross BlueShield insurer will be the only option in 95 of the state’s 100 counties after Aetna and UnitedHealth said this year that they would leave. That will leave 284,000 people looking for a new plan, according to the state.” (“More Than 1 Million In Obamacare To Lose Plans As Insurers Quit,” Bloomberg, 10/14/16)

SOUTH CAROLINA: “Prices for Obamacare health plans will skyrocket in South Carolina next year, and only one company will sell them, the state Department of Insurance announced Tuesday.... More than 200,000 Obamacare shoppers in South Carolina face fewer choices for coverage next year. They should also expect sticker prices for their premiums to increase an average 27 percent.” (“Obamacare Customers In South Carolina Face Fewer Choices, Higher Prices Next Year,” The Post and Courier, 10/04/2016)

TENNESSEE: “…seismic changes to the state’s insurance options…” (“BCBST's Exit From 3 Obamacare Markets Sends Shock Waves,” The Tennessean, 9/27/16)

“In Tennessee, UnitedHealth and the state’s BlueCross BlueShield plan are pulling back, and about 117,000 people will lose the plans they have now.” (“More Than 1 Million In Obamacare To Lose Plans As Insurers Quit,” Bloomberg, 10/14/16)

• “About 71,495 people in Nashville, 29,246 in Knoxville and 30,326 in Memphis will have to look to another insurer for coverage in 2017.” (“BCBST's Exit From 3 Obamacare Markets Sends Shock Waves,” The Tennessean, 9/27/16)

• “Before Friday, the state already had 57 counties where there was only one insurer. Now there will be 73.” (“BCBST's Exit From 3 Obamacare Markets Sends Shock Waves,” The Tennessean, 9/27/16)

ARIZONA: “Nearly 60,000 people, enrolled in Obamacare in Maricopa County, will soon be left with just one provider.” (“60K Self-Insured In Maricopa County Lose Coverage, Left With 1 Healthcare Provider,” Fox 10 Phoenix KSAZ, 10/04/2016)

• “A valley hair stylist is self-insured with Blue Cross Blue Shield. She just received a letter from the insurer, saying they'd no longer cover her in 2017. ‘I was shocked that I only have two months to find out what I'm gonna do. Like, what is it exactly that I should do?’ ‘Angela,’ as we'll call her, is one of 60,000 Maricopa residents receiving the same letter. . . In a marketplace turned monopoly, Angela is still deciding on what she'll do. ‘People are going to be scrambling. They're not going to know what to do and this is our government that is doing this,’ she said.” (“60K Self-Insured In Maricopa County Lose Coverage, Left With 1 Healthcare Provider,” Fox 10 Phoenix KSAZ, 10/04/2016)

MINNESOTA: “Minnesota health insurance market in ‘emergency situation’” (“Minnesota Health Insurance Market In ‘Emergency Situation,’” The Associated Press, 9/30/2016)

• “The departure of Blue Cross Blue Shield from the state’s individual market means a third of those who shop for their own insurance — 100,000 people — will need to find a new plan for next year.” (“MNsure Rate Hikes 50-67%,” Mankato Free Press, 9/30/2016)

• “The 250,000 people shopping in Minnesota's market for individual health insurance policies will find a much shorter list of options for 2017.” (“Choices Shrinking In Minnesota's Individual Health Plan Market,” Star Tribune, 10/4/16)

NEW JERSEY: “Health Republic Insurance of New Jersey will shut down for next year, forcing 35,000 people to find new insurance by Jan. 1. The shutdown leaves just two companies doing business on HealthCare.gov, the Affordable Care Act marketplace for New Jersey. And it highlights the flaws of President Obama’s signature health law, as well as the difficulties of starting a new insurance company.” (“Health Republic Insurance Of New Jersey’s Demise Exposes Flaws Of Obamacare,” The Record, 10/3/16)

FLORIDA & MISSISSIPPI: “Nearly three-fourths of Florida’s counties and more than four-fifths of Mississippi’s will be down to one insurer.” (“In North Carolina, ACA Insurer Defections Leave Little Choice For Many Consumers,” The Washington Post, 10/14/2016)