Robert King explains for Washington Examiner readers why the latest enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act is particularly important.
The final Obamacare open enrollment of President Obama’s presidency starts Tuesday with enrollees facing fewer insurers and higher premiums for health coverage.
However, the impact will largely depend on where the enrollee lives, as some states are faring far worse than others in plan offerings and rates.
The administration wants to get 13.8 million people to sign up between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, and it hopes about 11 million will pay for coverage throughout 2017. However, some experts doubt whether the administration can reach that goal because of higher plan costs.
This year’s open enrollment period is critical because the administration has sought to expand enrollment to improve the healthcare marketplace’s risk pools and ensure insurer participation after some high-profile defections.
About 10 million people paid for Obamacare in the first half of the year, which pales in comparison to the roughly 150 million who get insurance through their jobs.
A lack of competition and higher premiums are going to be an issue for some Obamacare customers in 2017, but the impact will vary drastically by state and county.
In 2017, several major insurers decided to leave most of the marketplaces they offer plans in. UnitedHealth will pull out of many of the 34 states where it offered plans, and Aetna will shrink its Obamacare presence by 70 percent.
Humana will leave four of 15 states, and most consumer oriented and operated plans have shut down because of financial problems. Only six of the original 23 co-ops remain, with Maryland’s planning to turn into a for-profit plan.
Part of the reason for the defections is losses in the individual markets. UnitedHealth, for instance, has said it plans to lose $600 million in Obamacare this year.
