Forty-seven counties are projected to have no Obamacare insurers next year and 1,200 could have only one, according to a new federal report.
The map released Tuesday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services outlined a county-by-county map of projected insurer participation in Obamacare. The report comes as the Senate is trying to work towards a healthcare reform bill vote by the July 4 recess.
The counties with no insurers are located in Ohio, Missouri and Washington.
The projections could change as participation in Obamacare for 2018 is not set in stone yet.
CMS noted that at least 35,000 active Obamacare exchange participants live in counties that are projected to be without coverage in 2018 and about 2.4 million could have just one insurer.
“This is yet another failing report card for the exchanges,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “CMS is working with state departments of insurance and issuers to find ways to provide relief and help restore access to healthcare plans, but our actions are by no means a long-term solution to the problems we’re seeing with the insurance exchanges.”
Some major insurers have already announced they are defecting from the exchanges due to mounting financial losses.
Insurer giants Aetna and UnitedHealth have left the exchanges due to losses of more than $100 million.
Democrats and Republicans are trading barbs over who is to blame for the insurer defections. Republicans charge the defections are evidence the law is failing and Democrats say the Trump administration is trying to sabotage the individual market to ensure Obamacare fails.
