Americans living in many rural areas in the U.S. will have just one health plan option next year if they buy insurance from the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows more than 650 counties will have just one insurer on the exchanges next year, and 70 percent of these counties have mostly rural populations, according to the report. This number is up significantly from 225 counties with just one insurer on the exchanges in 2016, and it could continue to grow, according to the report. The latest figures won't be available until all state filings have been made public in September.
Alaska and Alabama are the hardest hit states, in which no county will have more than one insurer on the exchanges. Other states with fewer options for rural residents include Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arizona and Oklahoma, according to the report. Data from Inovalon cited in the report indicates insurers may be rapidly pulling out of the exchanges for rural areas because costs are higher there. The patients tend to be sicker and provider costs also tend to be higher, according to the report.
As of now, every county will likely have at least one option on the exchange, a federal official from HHS told The Wall Street Journal.
Read the full report here.
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