Centene steps in to fill bare counties in Missouri

June 30--Every county in Missouri will have at least one health insurance carrier selling plans to individuals on the exchange in 2018 -- at least for now.

Centene announced Friday that it will sell plans in 40 Missouri counties, including the 25 western Missouri counties that were at risk of having no insurance carrier after Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City said it would no longer offer plans there in 2018.

BCBS of KC was the only remaining exchange insurer in those 25 counties.

BCBS of KC said it was pulling out because of unsustainable losses on the exchange, or HealthCare.gov, a market that was set up by former President Barack Obama's landmark health care bill. HealthCare.gov allow individuals to purchase coverage on their own if they don't have access to coverage through an employer.

Centene announced earlier this month that it had plans to enter new exchange markets in 2018 including Missouri, Kansas and Nevada.

St. Louis area residents will see more competition on the exchange as the area will now have three carriers to shop from.

If Anthem continues to offer plans in 2018, consumers here will be able to shop and compare plans offered by Anthem, Cigna and Centene.

Below is the 40-county list where Centene will sell plans in Missouri.

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