Blunt Demands Answers from Administration on Obamacare Exchange Options & Rate Hikes

Congressional Documents & Publications

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) today sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell demanding information regarding the number of health insurance options that will be available to Missourians on the Obamacare exchanges next year, and the rate increases that have been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As Blunt notes in the letter, HHS has not released this information despite reports showing that the vast majority of Missourians will face fewer health insurance options and significantly higher rates on the Obamacare exchanges next year.

"Based on the Kaiser Family Foundation report that was released in August, and conversations with my constituents, it appears that only eleven counties in Missouri (including the City of St. Louis) will have more than one option of health insurers on the marketplace exchanges next year," Blunt wrote. "This is in stark contrast to the options that Missourians had for this year, where every county had at least three insurers participating in the marketplace exchanges."

According to the KFF report, an estimated 85 percent of Missouri counties could have only one Obamacare marketplace insurer next year, compared to two percent this year, significantly narrowing health care options for individuals and families required to purchase insurance under the law or face up to a $2,085 penalty.

Blunt continued, "News reports also indicate that health insurers have submitted requests for significant rate hikes next year...Families in my state, and across the country, are being hit hard by the consequences of the president's health care law. The least they deserve is the opportunity to be able to plan for the future as best they can. Therefore, I request that you immediately release information on which insurers will participate in the marketplace exchanges, as well as the rate increases that CMS recently approved."

The deadline for health insurance companies to decide whether or not they are participating in the Obamacare exchanges next year was September 23. However, that information may not be made publically available until the open enrollment period begins on November 1. Blunt is seeking answers from the administration to ensure that Missouri families have the time and information they need to secure health coverage if they are once again forced off their plans or face significant rate hikes.