All Ohio counties now covered under ‘Obamacare’ exchange

COLUMBUS — First, there were 20 counties abandoned by health-care insurers covering Ohioans on the Obamacare exchange in 2018.

Then, a state deal cut that to one.

Thursday, coverage was announced for residents of the final area: Paulding County in far northwest Ohio.

“Working through this challenge has been a priority for the department and our staff in recent weeks, and I’m proud of the collaborative approach insurers have been willing to take so that we could come together and solve this problem,” state Insurance Director Jillian Froment said in a release.

“There is a lot of uncertainty facing consumers when it comes to health insurance, and these announcements will provide important relief.”

CareSource will handle the coverage for Paulding County next year.

However, Froment warned that the deal for all 20 counties applies only to 2018.

"Beyond that, insurers are still looking for predictability in the health insurance market,” she said. “Now is the time for Congress to work on reforms that will strengthen our health insurance markets in ways that improve access and affordability.”

While residents in 20 Ohio counties faced the possibility of not having access to health insurance, Ohio quickly became ammunition for critics of the Affordable Care Act well beyond the Buckeye State.

But Leslie Dach, Protect Our Care campaign director and a former senior counselor at the Department of Health and Human Services, issued a statement: “(President Donald) Trump and Republicans in Congress have been rooting for health care to fail. With today’s announcement, their talking points continued to evaporate.

“It's official. The biggest threat to your health care is still sabotage from the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.”

Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is working at cross-purposes with many of his fellow Republicans in Washington by attempting to win approval from a bipartisan group of governors for a proposed Obamacare fix.

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CREDIT: DARREL ROWL; THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH