An Avalere analysis found 36 percent of the U.S.'s approximately 500 rating regions — geographical areas used to set insurance premiums and determine where plans are sold — may only have one participating insurer next year, and in some sub-region counties, zero.
The analysis from the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm compared insurers offering plans in 2016 to those that said they will not participate or decrease their exchange footprint in 2017 — like Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and some co-ops. The analysis assumes no additional market entries or exits.
In about 55 percent of the geographical regions, two or fewer insurers will participate. Comparatively, Avalere found 33 percent of regions had two or fewer insurers in 2016, with 4 percent of regions having only one or fewer.
According to Avalere, in 2017, seven states — Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming — will only have one insurer per rating region in all the state's rating regions.
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